Legacy Rebirth
by Dream Keys
Summary: REWRITE IN PROGRESS Who was Namikaze Minato? How did he come to be? Why are there no other Namikazes in Konoha? And what does Naruto have to do with it? Time-travel in a different way.
1. Chapter 1

A child was brought screaming and kicking into the world. His name was Uzumaki Naruto.

Scant moments later, the Kyuubi was sealed inside of him, by a man named Namikaze Minato. He was known as the Fourth Hokage of Konohagakure.

Minato was killed, his soul taken by the Shinigami, as soon as the seal was complete. He cast one more look at his newborn son and smiled a sad smile that barely reached his eyes.

"I'm sorry…Naruto. I…always wondered if I was hated by the Hokage…but now I know the answer." With that cryptic answer, the Yellow Flash slumped, a small smile gracing his lips as his soul was taken to the Death God's stomach.

**

* * *

**

The child grew up with the hate of the citizens of Konoha without knowing why. He heard spiteful comments aimed in his direction, and they hurt. Hating the feeling of being shoved aside and forgotten, he turned to pranks in order to gain recognition.

Then, he graduated from the shinobi academy.

But before that, he learned of the reason he was often hated and shunned by the people of Konoha. He learned why people called him a freak and a demon.

It was because he held the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox inside of him. Uzumaki Naruto was a container, a living sacrifice, a _jinchuuriki_.

* * *

Team Seven. This was the name of his genin cell. His teacher, Hatake Kakashi, was a porn addict as well as being habitually tardy. His teammates were Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura, one of which was a genius, and the other, Naruto had a crush on.

The team struggled at first, but survived. A mission to Wave Country _that was supposed to be far above their standards _tied the three children closer together.

**

* * *

**

They had only returned for a while before Kakashi decided to nominate them for the Chunin Selection Exams. Being the young and impatient children they were, Team Seven agreed to take part in it. When they entered the pre-exam room, they realized that they truly were rookies compared to most of the other genin in the room.

The proctor's name was Morino Ibiki. One hour, and the first exam was over. Uzumaki Naruto passed only because of his determination not to fail.

There was a survival test. A man wearing a Grass genin's face attacked Team Seven. Sasuke was given a strange mark with three tomoe in a triangular fashion. Exhausted, and helped along by a fellow Leaf genin by the name of Kabuto, the team barely made it through to the third and final round. However, there were too many people still left, and preliminaries were held.

Naruto was to fight Kiba. A combination of good luck and creative thinking enabled him to pass.

**

* * *

**

Uzumaki Naruto was happy – he had passed the preliminaries and was going onto the final stage of the Chunin Exam, which was to be held in front of a large audience with civilian and shinobi alike looking on. He asked Kakashi for training, but was denied _in favour of Uchiha Sasuke._

_The bitter feeling of betrayal _slowly passed.

He was passed onto the tutelage of Ebisu, of whom Naruto believed he could defeat already. Contemptuous, he sneered at the man. However, the special jounin proved that he was worthy of the title and surprised the boy. He agreed to let Ebisu teach him.

**

* * *

**

The man taught him chakra control in the form of walking on water.

He was interrupted halfway through with the appearance of an apparent pervert.

Angry at the loss of his teacher, Uzumaki Naruto demanded training from the white haired man, who introduced himself as Jiraiya of the Sannin. The Toad Sage taught him summoning.

A boss summon later, Uzumaki Naruto was finally feeling a little momentum on his side.

**

* * *

**

Uzumaki Naruto had beaten Hyuuga Neji, the prodigy of the Hyuuga clan and the top of his year's graduating class.

It was to be expected, after all. He had sworn an oath to defeat him, and Uzumaki Naruto never broke a promise.

Sasuke arrived late. His match was delayed until the end of the first round of the tournament. His opponent was Gaara of the Desert.

A short while after the match started, chaos broke out.

Sand ninja and Sound ninja together started the invasion of the Hidden Leaf village. Naruto, along with Shikamaru, Sakura and Shino were instructed to – _go on their second A-ranked mission_ – follow Sasuke, who was pursuing Gaara and his teammates.

Naruto made it there only to see Sasuke in obvious agony, clutching something on the left side of his neck, and Sakura pinned to a tree with a slowly tightening arm of sand.

He summoned. Gaara transformed. Soon the fight was over, with many of the trees scattered, and the sand boy lying on the ground, defenseless and worn out. His siblings appeared, and the three fled.

And Uzumaki Naruto stayed long behind, staring in the direction the red haired boy had gone, because he had finally found a fellow jinchuuriki.

**

* * *

**

He mourned for the Sandaime's death, of course, in his somber black attire.

**

* * *

**

Uchiha Sasuke deserted soon after. Naruto vowed to bring him back. Operation Retrieve Sasuke began, under the direction of newly promoted chunin Shikamaru.

They failed.

It wasn't that they couldn't defeat the Sound Four, but because of Naruto's personal failure when he attempted to bring Sasuke back.

The Curse Seal was too powerful.

He left on a three year training trip with Jiraiya.

**

* * *

**

When Uzumaki Naruto returned, much had happened. Immediately he was sent on a mission to help the Godaime Kazekage, Gaara. Akatsuki had started mobilizing, and by the time his team reached the Akatsuki base, Gaara was dead, and the Shukaku extracted.

Chiyo, the woman who had sealed the Shukaku into Gaara, used a life restoring technique, resurrecting him, and subsequently sacrificing herself.

**

* * *

**

When Naruto returned to Konoha, Jiraiya was waiting for him, with the grave news that another jinchuuriki had fallen to Akatsuki. The two left again for another few months, and when they returned, Naruto was stronger than ever. Jiraiya had taught him a few new techniques, and had worked on his taijutsu, as well as introducing to him the secret power of the kage bunshin. Then, with the advanced training that the clones allowed, he had taught Naruto elemental manipulation. With this, he quickly perfected his Rasengan into one handed use, and used his clones to master Futon: Rasengan- a technique that the Yondaime himself had never been able to master.

Tsunade, the Godaime Hokage, informed him that Orochimaru had been killed by Sasuke.

**

* * *

**

A year passed, and then another. Naruto advanced to chunin, and then jounin in quick succession. He perfected his Rasenshuriken, and improved his control over the Kyuubi's power.

And then he stumbled across Itachi, who was without his partner Kisame, for some odd reason. However, this mattered little to Naruto, who was busy fighting for his life. He flared the chakra of the Kyuubi sharply, and then dived forwards with a Rasengan in hand. As the swirling ball of chakra impacted on Itachi's stomach, Naruto reflected that it had been too easy. The Uchiha hadn't even activated his Sharingan at all.

Naruto left the battlefield site, unable the shake the feeling of guilt he had when he realized he had just killed Sasuke's brother, making it impossible for him to achieve his revenge.

**

* * *

**

Sasuke confronted Naruto scarcely a month later, ironically meeting him at the Valley of the End once more. Naruto overpowered his Chidori with his improved elemental Rasengan, and managed to punch him into the statue of Uchiha Madara, knocking him unconscious.

He returned to Konoha, errant Uchiha in tow.

When Naruto arrived, several ANBU kept Sasuke sedated and dragged him off to a specialized chakra-sapping cell in a dungeon below the Hokage tower.

Tsunade asked for his presence in the Hokage tower soon after, with Jiraiya, and informed him of his parentage. Naruto spent the rest of the day alternating between being hateful towards his father for abandoning him, and positively gleeful that he was the son of a Hokage. In the end, he settled for being happy, and asked Jiraiya to teach him Hiraishin, of which he had heard about from a scroll he had obtained from the local library. The Toad Hermit had replied that Minato had never taught him the Flying Thunder God Technique, but he had a vague idea of where to start.

He then proceeded to teach Naruto how to seal for the subsequent half year.

**

* * *

**

"Brat? Brat! Stop snoring and get up!" Jiraiya's loud voice knocked him out of his slumber.

"Huh? Whazzat?" came the sleepy mumble from a clearly content Naruto lying on his pallet. The two were in a small clearing behind the Hokage Monument, experimenting on Hiraishin.

Jiraiya huffed in annoyance and employed a Suiton jutsu against Naruto, causing him to splutter and immediately exit his pallet with a speed to rival Lee's. As he dried himself off, Jiraiya reached into an interior pocket in his red coat and brought out an odd looking three pronged kunai with kanji written around the handle.

"What's that?" Naruto asked, barely taking a look at the kunai as he stretched and grabbed an empty scroll from his hip pouch.

"This," Jiraiya said, "is what Minato used as a marker for his Flying Thunder God technique."

At this, Naruto snatched the kunai out of his hands and immediately started turning it over and examining it. "The seal array is arranged in a strange fashion," he mumbled, jotting something down on his scroll. He continued to talk to himself for a while until Jiraiya cleared his throat.

"Well…" he announced, "It looks like you're quite busy over there, so I'm just going to go to the hot springs…I'll see you around later!" the self-proclaimed super pervert giggled lecherously to himself as he stood. Naruto, immersed in the intricacies of the kunai seal, waved a flippant hand at him.

"Yeah, yeah, Ero-sennin," the demon container murmured, not looking up and seeing Jiraiya's mock hurt at being brushed off so easily. "See you later."

The Sannin sulked for a moment before leaping away, his faux-dark mood already being chased away with mental images of his newest research projects.

**

* * *

**

Naruto sat back on his heels, bored. After an hour of examining and experimenting with the Hiraishin kunai, he thought he nearly had the jutsu down. He glanced at the near-midday sun, and then down at his scroll that he had hastily scribbled the kunai's original seal array on.

Picking up his ink brush, Naruto dipped it in the portable ink container located at the head of the scroll (given to him courtesy of Sai) and looked at the arrangement again, before shrugging and doodling random seals on the scroll, figuring that he wouldn't really have a use for the written down seal arrangement again.

The not quite eighteen year old boy sighed as he looked longingly at the three pronged kunai, slipping a finger through the hole at the end and letting it dangle, unknowingly copying a pose from the Yondaime himself. Jiraiya had expressly forbidden him from trying out the Hiraishin jutsu without him being present, but honestly, one try couldn't hurt, could it?

Naruto stood up slowly, the slightly stunted grass tickling the bare soles of his feet as he absentmindedly twirled the kunai around on his finger. He calculated the amount of chakra he would have to push into the jutsu, and without thinking, abruptly halted movement and brought the kunai into a guard position- or tried to.

"Damn it!" Naruto cursed as blood trickled down his finger from the shallow cut he had accidentally made with his kunai. He had forgotten that the three pronged Hiraishin kunai was longer than his normal ones.

Naruto looked around the area once more before selecting a tree to throw the kunai at. He twisted, preparing to shoot his chakra out, but stopped a second before going through with the jutsu.

'I should probably practice throwing the damn thing before even trying,' Naruto thought ruefully, before snapping his arm back and hurling it at the tree.

**

* * *

**

Jiraiya caught himself just as he was about to fall, balancing precariously along the wooden divider. He giggled perversely one more time a thin trickle of blood coming out of his nose, and then sighed in disappointment as he eyed the position of the sun in the sky.

'Heh…time's not going to run backwards,' the Sannin thought regretfully, as he turned away from the hot springs and wiped the remains of his nosebleed away. 'I should check back on Naruto to see how he's doing.'

**

* * *

**

Tsunade was busy reading a mission briefing written by Kurenai when Shizune rushed in, not even bothering to knock.

"Look, Lady Tsunade!" she gasped, thrusting a newspaper in her face. Tsunade snatched the newspaper out of the other medic-nin's hands and furiously skimmed it.

'Damn it all…' she cursed as her eyes took in the gambling section.

She had won the grand lottery prize.

Tsunade raced to the window facing the Hokage Monument as a huge shockwave blasted through the entire village.

'An earthquake?!' she thought, before discarding the idea. 'No, couldn't be…the source is from the top of the Hokage Monument.' She turned around again, before…

The Godaime blinked stupidly for a second, before whipping around as a second blast shook the Hokage Tower.

"..Naruto!" she exclaimed, already jumping out of the window, chakra grasping onto the walls. "He's up on the Monument!"

**

* * *

**

"What on earth was that?!" Jiraiya shouted as the first jolt caused the ground beneath him to shake. He took one look at the Hokage Monument before setting off at a dead run for where he knew Naruto was located.

**

* * *

**

"**Hiraishin no Jutsu!"**

Naruto flung the sealed kunai at the tree, concentrating on the thin line of chakra that connected him to the blade, and smiled in satisfaction as he felt a slight tug…only to look in horror as a swirling bright vortex of light engulfed him, sending spots to his eyes. Through the light, he could dimly make out the inked seals on the scroll he had experimented, and a small splatter of blood on it. His eyes widened in realization.

"_Damn it!" Naruto cursed as blood trickled down his finger from the shallow cut he had accidentally made with his kunai._

The seal array flared a violent yellow and Naruto groaned, clapping his hands over his eyes as the supernova threatened to blind him.

"**WHAT ARE YOU DOING, BRAT?" **Kyuubi roared as his container twisted around and collapsed in agony. A low keening sound started, quickly rising in pitch and volume until it was a vicious high pitched whine that scorched the blonde boy's ears.

"S..seal," Naruto choked out, as Tsunade landed at the edge of the churning vortex of bright yellow light. "Tsunade baa-chan!"

"Naruto!" she cried out in helpless dismay as the intense brightness all but engulfed Naruto. Next to her, Jiraiya climbed the last few steps of the Hokage Monument and hurried to her side.

"…**I SEE,"** Kyuubi said, sounding almost…nostalgic. **"NOW I SEE WHAT THE YONDAIME MEANT WHEN HE SEALED ME…"**

"W..what?" Naruto gasped as the current around him increased. A wave of nausea overtook him and he retched, involuntarily opening his eyes in the process and then flinching back in pain.

"**THERE'S NOTHING YOU CAN DO TO STOP THIS," **the demon fox murmured, not appearing to hear Naruto. **"GOOD LUCK IN THE FUTURE…OR SHALL I SAY PAST?"**

"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT, YOU STUPID OLD FOX?!" Naruto screamed as his chakra spiraled out of control and mixed with the already virulent radiance.

"_I'm sorry…Naruto. I…always wondered…"_

"_**Hiraishin no Jutsu!"**_

"_Don't worry-"_

"_-chan, I promise."_

"BAA-CHAN! ERO-SENNIN!"

And with that, Uzumaki Naruto disappeared from the world in a bright yellow storm of chakra and light.

**

* * *

**

"…looks like…"

"..awaken-"

"-doctor…send…"

"Send for a bloody medic, kid!" someone shouted. There was a brief silence, punctured by the soft pitter-patter of running feet. Naruto grunted as the noise seemed to amplify itself by a hundredfold. Slowly opening his eyes, and half expecting to be blinded by the golden light, Naruto became aware that he was lying in a hospital bed, staring at the ceiling of the immaculate and sterile hospital room. Naruto groaned and closed his eyes again.

"Ah, you're awake." A calm male voice interrupted his moment of blissful silence.

"Whooareyoo?" Naruto slurred, his head pounding as he feebly tried to lift himself up off the bed. "Where am I?" The male's hand gently pushed him back down.

"Calm down, would you?" the man chuckled softly. "My name is Yakushi Tetsuya. You are in Konoha Hospital."

'Yakushi?' Naruto thought, his half-asleep mind whirring furiously. After a few seconds, it hit him. 'Kabuto?!'

Naruto snapped his eyes open and stared at the brown haired man, who looked like he was in his late twenties.

Tetsuya walked over to the foot of Naruto's bed and tied the clipboard he was holding onto a piece of string. Then he walked back and extended a green glowing hand across Naruto's chest.

"I'm running a diagnosis," the medic-nin told him. "You appear to be clean now, and soon you'll just have a rather large bruise on your head."

Naruto blinked a few times. Something didn't seem quite right.

"Ano…Tetsuya-san," he began, his voice slightly raspy. "How did I get here?" And in his mind, he added, 'did Tsunade baa-chan or Ero-sennin take me here?'

Tetsuya raised his eyebrows. "You don't remember?" he asked, but then shook his head. "Well, I guess that's not really a surprise. You did get a concussion, after all. One of our chunin patrols found you a little beyond the northern gate. We don't really know much besides that." The man glanced at his watch.

"Look, kid, I'm sorry, but I can't stay here for much longer. Sandaime-sama is expecting me in his office soon." He started to turn around.

Naruto's eyes widened. Sandaime?! "Wait!" he called. "What do you mean, San-"

"Tetsuya-san!"

Tetsuya turned back to Naruto with a pleading expression on his face. "I've got to run, kid. I promise I'll talk to you later!" he twisted back around and opened the door. "I'm coming, Tsuke-san!"

The door slammed shut.

Naruto tore off his sheets and jumped out of the bed, grimacing slightly at his hospital gown and the feel of the cold tiles on his bare feet. He hurried to the window and stared out at the faces of the three Hokages on the Hokage Monument.

Wait. Three Hokages?

Naruto rubbed his eyes furiously and stared at the unmarred face of the Sandaime Hokage. He slowly arranged his hands in the ram seal.

"Kai!" he whispered.

Nothing happened.

'What…what's going on?' Naruto thought. 'Is this the result of that stupid seal I made?'

The door opened again, and a nurse stepped into the room. "What are you doing out of bed, young man?" she questioned, pointing back at the bed with a commanding finger. "Get back in there at once!"

It occurred to Naruto that the woman seemed rather tall…although only from his current perspective. However, he disregarded that thought as he frantically tried to come up with an excuse.

"Aa…Nurse-san, I need to go to the toilet," Naruto replied meekly, trying to seem as pathetic as possible.

"Oh! That's okay then," the woman said brightly. "I'll take you to the bathroom."

**

* * *

**

When he looked in the mirror, Naruto got quite possibly, the biggest shock of his life. He blinked at the mirror.

The face of a six year old blinked back.

And what's more, this six year old had spiky blonde hair and sapphire blue eyes. In fact, he looked almost exactly like what Naruto looked like when _he_ was a child, except this one had a slightly narrower jaw line, and more defined cheekbones.

Well. For a child, at any rate.

However, the face that stared back at Naruto didn't have his trademark whisker marks. This boy couldn't be him, Naruto decided. He looked far too much like the boy in the picture Jiraiya had shown him of his team…

He snapped back to the present as the nurse rapped smartly on the door outside.

"Are you quite finished in there yet?" she called, a tinge of impatience in her tone.

"Um…yeah," Naruto replied, hurrying out. There was only one way to find out for sure…

…and besides, he didn't even know if he was in the past.

In his room, Naruto turned around to face the nurse.

"Ano…did I tell you my name?" he asked, wringing his hands together nervously. The lady looked at him in surprise.

"You can't remember?" she asked, looking shocked. "You really must have hit your head quite hard."

"Do you know?" Naruto pressed. The nurse gestured at the clipboard at the end of his bed.

"Before you passed out, you told the patrol that your name was Namikaze Minato," she said. "It's my lunch break now, Minato-kun. I should go now."

She left, closing the door gently behind her, as Naruto rushed towards the clipboard.

_Namikaze Minato._

_Blood type B._

**

* * *

**

**Author's Notes:** My first foray into Naruto fandom. Constructive criticism and comments are welcome.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Notes:** Thanks for all the positive reviews I received for the first chapter. To clear up some confusion, yes, Naruto is Minato. Yes, he is his own father, but I think things will get clearer a little later on. I have a general idea of where I want this story to go, so I think I'll stick to that.

I didn't want Itachi to get killed off by Sasuke because I personally don't really enjoy his notion of 'revenge'. More knowledge on Itachi and the Uchihas may come in later on, but they're not really key characters.

Now on with the story.

**

* * *

**

It really was true. And the proof was right in front of him.

"Good morning, Minato-kun," Sandaime Hokage said pleasantly as Naruto sat down in his hard backed chair. "I trust the hospital food wasn't too bad?"

Naruto was silent for a moment, revelling in the odd feeling of feet not quite touching the ground as his six year old body plonked down hard. "It was okay, old man," he replied absently, staring at the middle aged Professor, studying the wrinkles on his face... or rather the lack thereof.

Then he froze, eyes darting to the Hokage and back to the floor as he realised his mistake.

The chunin guard at the door made a strange choking noise in the back of his throat as the Sandaime laughed, a deep rich sound that had the deep baritone of one in his prime.

"I'm not quite that old yet," he told Naruto, amused. Then his expression grew a little more serious.

"What I want to know is how you came to be at Konoha," Sarutobi said. "The chunin patrol that found you informed me that there were no signs of any other injuries aside from a concussion."

Naruto blinked. "I don't know how I got here," he said truthfully, and twitched almost imperceptibly as he saw the Hokage's eyes narrow slightly. "I...I can't remember anything from before the hospital."

Naruto was terrified at that very moment. He was caught in indecision as to whether to tell the Third who he really was, but he didn't want to lose the man's trust at this early stage. Child he may be, but the Hokage barely knew him. And a child coming out of nowhere...Naruto wasn't stupid, and he definitely knew the Hokage wasn't stupid. Behind the mask of a benevolent and kind man there was the sharp analytical mind of an experienced shinobi.

No, Naruto would keep his secret a little longer.

"Forgive me if I seem a little blunt," Sarutobi quietly spoke. "But our village was only recently involved in the Second Great Shinobi World War. You must excuse me if I seem a little suspicious of an unexpected arrival, child or not."

Naruto said nothing, his mind awhirl as he digested this new information. The old- no, the middle aged shinobi chuckled again.

"Ah, I'm afraid rambling on again, I'm afraid," he said amiably. "Will you be staying in Konoha, then?"

A little disconcerted by the sudden change of subject, Naruto nodded. "Yeah. I've got nowhere else to go."

Sarutobi nodded. "For a child, you seem quite capable," he mused, stroking his short goatee. "I don't suppose you would like to live on your own, would you?"

Naruto smiled. "It'll just be like old times!" he cheered, although inside, his mind was in turmoil. "Thanks Hokage-jiji!"

"No problem, Minato. Aiko?"

A rather tall black haired woman walked into the room, and although she flashed a disarming smile at Naruto, he could see her kunai holster strapped to her right leg and the equipment pouch on her hip. He got the strange feeling that all of this had been arranged beforehand.

"Hello there, Minato-kun!" Aiko had a cheerful grin. "I'll take you to your apartment now."

Naruto slipped off his seat and ambled away with the kunoichi, but before leaving, he turned around.

"Old man?" he asked, sticking his hands into his black pant pockets. "What's the date today?"

"January 25th," Sarutobi replied.

Naruto's eyes widened as he realised the importance of the day. Suddenly, he felt grateful that he had decided to read his old history books. "Oh...I think...today's my birthday." Naruto turned around and left.

Sarutobi watched both of them leave as he lit his pipe.

'Interesting,' he thought as he took a small puff.

**

* * *

**

"What is it, Tsunade?" Jiraiya grumbled, climbing through the large window overlooking the village. The white haired sage had seemed to be in a perpetually grumpy mood ever since Naruto had vanished from the village. "It had better be damn important."

"It is," Tsunade replied crisply, and reached behind her desk. "Look at this," she said.

**

* * *

**

"You're apartment's number thirteen," Aiko told him as the pair entered the lift. Naruto studied her movements as the door closed behind them.

'Not quite jounin, but probably a high chunin,' he surmised as she readjusted her kunai holster. 'No jounin would fiddle around like that.'

With a slight 'ding', the elevator doors slid open, revealing a red carpeted hallway with cream coloured walls. They walked down the short hallway until they reached a doorway with the number thirteen written on it in gold lettering as Aiko dug around in her pouch for a moment before pulling out a key.

"Here's the key for your apartment," she told him as she handed it over. "I recommend you don't lose it."

She slotted the key into the lock and opened the door. The two went inside. "Hokage-sama will give you an allowance for whatever you need, be it food, clothes, or any other accessories you need," the woman said, sitting down on a couch as Naruto took in the view.

The living room was rectangular in shape, and much larger than the tiny space that was Naruto's old flat. It contained a television set, two cream coloured couches and a small coffee table in the middle. The room then lead to a small kitchenette and a dining table for two.

"This is great!" Naruto exclaimed happily. "Thanks, Aiko-san!"

Aiko smirked. "Don't thank me, thank Hokage-sama," she informed him, flicking her black hair backwards. "By the way, your bedroom's over that way. Spare changes of clothes are in the wardrobe." She jerked her hand towards a doorframe to the right of the room.

Just then, a messenger bird fluttered through the open window and landed on Aiko's arm. Eyes widening slightly, she took the note from the pigeon and abruptly stood up. Naruto craned his head to look at her.

"Hokage-sama needs me right now," she said with an exasperated sigh. "I'll see you around later, 'kay?" She ruffled Naruto's hair and headed towards the slightly ajar door.

"Oh, and close that window," she said as an almost afterthought. "It's winter. You'll catch a cold."

"I don't get colds," Naruto replied confidently. _Kyuubi protects me from such mundane things._

Aiko laughed. "Suit yourself, then."

**

* * *

**

Naruto found when he looked in his cupboard, that there were quite a few spare changes of clothes, of which he was rather grateful.

But it also made him question Sandaime's motives. Why was the Hokage so trusting, even after warning him about spies? Naruto had many questions to ask, and the best possible way to get them answered was to ask Kyuubi.

He exchanged his plain grey clothes for a white shirt and blue shorts, his hand momentarily pausing around his right thigh as he tied on an imaginary kunai holster. Then he righted himself, and sank down slowly on his bed, closing his eyes.

**

* * *

**

Naruto opened his eyes to the familiar sewer like tunnels of his mind, slogging through the water in the familiar path to take him to Kyuubi. So lost in his thoughts was he that he didn't realise that he had arrived at Kyuubi's prison until a good minute later.

Or rather, where Kyuubi's cage used to be.

It wasn't that the Kyuubi was not present, or that the gates were open and the seal ripped off, but rather _the prison itself was gone, as if it had never existed._

Naruto dimly felt his eyes widen and his mouth drop open through the distant roar in his head. Where on earth could the fox be?

"Kyuubi?!" Naruto shouted, his voice slightly hysterical. "Where the hell are you?"

The answer suddenly fell on him like a ton of bricks. Of course Kyuubi wasn't there. The nine-tails was somewhere out in the wilds, because he was Minato and Minato hadn't sealed the beast yet.

"Damn it!" he screamed. Now he'd never get his questions answered.

"Would you quiet down a little?" came a soft voice from behind him. "You're going to give me a bad reputation with that unholy screaming."

Naruto whipped around, slightly off balance by the new voice. "Who are you?" he demanded into the darkness.

A blonde haired man stepped out of the shadows, a white trench coat decorated with red flames fluttering around his wiry frame.

"Hello, Naruto."

"Yondaime," Naruto whispered, stumbling back as the Fourth Hokage stepped forwards. "What are you doing in my mind?"

The other laughed. "I'm not actually in your mind," Namikaze Minato told him. "I'm not even really the Fourth. You are. Or you will be, at any rate."

"Then who are you?" Naruto snapped.

"An echo," came the elusive answer. "An echo of your future and past."

"Answer the question, damn it!" Naruto growled, his patience coming to an end.

Minato blinked. "I'm sorry I can't say any more," he said with a touch of regret. "It was the same when I first came here." The apparition started to fade, and Naruto rushed forward.

"What do you mean?" he yelled. "Don't run away like that, you coward!"

"You have to figure out the rest for yourself," Minato said. "Whatever happens will happen right, and everything will work out in the end."

He disappeared completely, and Naruto slumped, dejected.

'What did he mean by that?'

**

* * *

**

Naruto woke slowly, blinking against the glare of the noon day sun through his closed window. He leaped off the bed and walked over to the window, opening it and relaxing in the presence of the bright sun, but then stiffened.

He took a tentative sniff of the air, and gasped in ecstasy as a certain aroma wafted by his nose.

"YES!" screamed Naruto, as he sped out of his apartment, being careful to pocket his keys. He almost leaped out of the window in his excitement, but reined in the impulse at the last second, figuring that he didn't really want the Hokage or any other shinobi descending on him full of uncomfortable questions.

He slammed his hand against the 'down' button on the wall beside the elevator, but was too impatient to wait for the lift to arrive. Instead, the blonde haired boy raced down the fire escape stairs, bursting out on to the open street and following his nose.

Ichiraku Ramen was situated at the exact same place as Naruto remembered. He quickly crossed the street and walked into the stand, struggling for a moment to clamber into the high stool.

"One extra large pork ramen please!" Naruto beamed at a wrinkle free Teuchi, who saluted and immediately turned to his customer.

"Why hello there, young man!" he called, smiling at Naruto. "What's your name?"

"Nar- uh, Namikaze Minato," Naruto replied, stuttering slightly at the unfamiliar name passing through his lips.

"Well then, Minato!" Teuchi replied. "I'm Teuchi. Here's your ramen, on the house!"

"Thanks, oyaji!" Naruto grinned as he dug into his precious noodles.

Ten bowls of ramen later, and leaving a rather shocked ramen bar owner behind, Naruto left the stand.

**

* * *

**

Past Konoha, Naruto decided, was much the same as the Konoha he knew. Most of the shops were at the same places, and the atmosphere of the general crowd was generally the same, but it didn't have the same feeling surrounding it that his Konoha had.

As he mused upon the strange words his father had given him before he departed, Naruto spotted three discreet looking ANBU, two on the rooftops and one in the crowd. All three of them were following him.

Naruto understood, in a way, that this was the Sandaime's way of assuring himself that Naruto was not a threat. Naruto didn't alter his stride; giving no signal that he had spotted the ANBU at all. He realised that a child of his age should not be able to spot a chunin, let alone the most elite and feared branch of ninja.

Unless they were already ninja trained themselves.

**

* * *

**

Naruto met with Aiko again later in the day, and she showed him around the village in what she classified as a 'real tour'. She revealed that she was a senior chunin after a some subtle probing by Naruto, although she did seem a little suspicious.

By the time Aiko had finished dragging Naruto around town, it was already late in the evening, so she took Naruto to a barbeque joint, where they were warmly welcomed by the manager. It was a rather novel experience to Naruto to be welcomed into any kind of store in Konoha without some kind of harassment, but Naruto coped.

After dinner, and a hearty farewell by the shopkeeper, Aiko took Naruto the Hokage Tower. She left him outside the Hokage's room as she herself went in, claiming that she needed to talk with the Hokage alone about a mission of hers.

Taking the absence of the chunin guard in stride, Naruto pressed his ear to the wooden door and focused some chakra to his ear. He noted that his chakra felt a bit off, but signed that to be looked into later. Right now, he had some eavesdropping to do.

"How is your mission going, Aiko-chan?" the Hokage asked. There was a slight shuffling sound that indicated Aiko taking a seat.

"So far, so good," she replied. "Minato-kun seems like just an ordinary kid to me."

Naruto's eyes widened. Aiko's mission was about him?

"Hmm..." Sarutobi murmured. "He is extremely mature for his age, and at times seems to almost be older than what he appears to be."

Aiko snorted. "With all due respect, Hokage-sama, the world is a dangerous place. Kids like Minato are forced to grow up fast, or die."

There was silence for a moment. "Perhaps," Sarutobi agreed amicably. "But I do think there is something he isn't quite telling me."

"You mean to say that a _six year old kid_ can deceive the Hokage?" Aiko asked in a sceptical tone. "I think you're looking into this a little too seriously, Hokage-sama."

"Call Minato in please, Aiko," the Hokage instructed. Naruto barely scrambled back to his seat in time as the door was wrenched open wide.

"Come in, Minato-kun," Aiko said with a smile as she ushered Naruto into the room. "Hokage-sama will see you now."

Once the three were seated, Naruto took the opportunity to study the Third's face as he refilled his pipe. The lines of age and the liver spots had not yet appeared on his face, and his hair was still brown.

Sarutobi's voice broke Naruto out of his inspection. "How are you enjoying your stay in Konoha so far?" he asked, his eyes twinkling merrily as he exhaled a long stream of smoke.

Naruto was acutely aware of the fact that he had only been in the village for a day, but kept his knowledge of the fact to himself.

"It's great!" he replied enthusiastically. "The people around here are really nice!"

Naruto wasn't lying when he said that the people were nice. It was a drastic change from the blank stares and cold glares that he had received in his own childhood. For a moment, he had a brief flash of envy for his Minato, until he realised that he _was_ him.

"Where did you come from, Minato-kun?" Sarutobi asked him. "I'm quite curious to know."

Naruto panicked. What was he supposed to tell him? What country had his father come from?

Then he remembered Minato's parting words to him.

_Whatever happens will happen right, and everything will work out in the end._

Naruto took a deep breath, and looked at the Third Hokage in the eye. "I come from Nami no Kuni," he said, wistful memories of Tazuna, Tsunami and Inari coming to the fore of his mind. "But I can't remember how I got here..."

"That's quite alright," Sarutobi said, nodding his head once. "Now, perhaps it's time you should leave. I believe it's getting quite late."

Sarutobi was right, for when he walked out onto the streets, Naruto found that it was pitch black. He blinked a few times until his eyes adjusted to the dark, and began the trek home.

**

* * *

**

"A letter," Tsunade said dully. "It's from Sarutobi-sensei."

Jiraiya's eyes widened as he crossed the room in three strides and peered at the old yellowed paper in the Slug Sannin's hands. For once, she didn't complain as his new perspective gave him quite a spectacular view. "What does it say?" he asked.

Tsunade said nothing, but undid the string and withdrew the letter.

**

* * *

**Naruto collapsed onto his bed, his mind a whirlpool of emotions. He recalled the past day as he pulled the covers over himself.

His last coherent thought before sleep claimed him was that it would be funny seeing Kakashi as a child, until he remembered that Kakashi hadn't even been born yet.

Soft snores punctuated the room as Naruto fell into a dreamless sleep.

**

* * *

**

**Author's Notes:** Once again, thank you to all of the reviews. Comments, suggestions and constructive criticism are always welcomed.

-Dream Keys


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Notes:** Once again, thank you to my reviewers and to everyone who's liked my story so far. Only 2 chapters so far and 1000+ hits already! You guys make me a very happy individual!

Yes, Sarutobi knows about Naruto in the future, but not in the past...as of yet.

**

* * *

**

_Dear Tsunade, (or whoever else may be reading this letter)_

_If you are reading this, then it must mean that I myself am now deceased from my battle with Orochimaru, and Naruto has already activated the _Jikoku Fūin. _How I know this, you may ask. The answer is quite simple indeed. Naruto himself told me personally, although he is unaware that I am keeping a record of this._

_I will now proceed to seal this letter in a concealed space/time pocket in the third drawer of my desk in the Hokage office, covered by a triple-layer genjutsu until both of two things occur- my death, and the Naruto's Time Seal. _

_Naruto explained to me that you would become the Godaime after my death, Tsunade. I am sure that Konoha is safe in your capable hands. And please, if Jiraiya is around, ask him to read this letter as well. _

_That being said, I hereby declare this correspondence an S-class secret. Do not ever speak of this to anyone else. In Naruto's words, 'tattle to someone and the whole universe might suddenly decide to collapse upon us'. _

_Perhaps you are wondering what on earth I am talking about- and how Naruto knows that you would become the next Hokage. Once again, the answer to this is simple. _

_You must be confused, Tsunade- after all, this paper looks very old, ne?_

_You are correct. If I am correct in my calculations, this letter was written thirty one years ago- now you must be wondering, how could Naruto have told all of this to you if he wasn't even born yet? Naruto is very much alive, although not in the form and name you know him by. In fact, he goes by the name Namikaze Minato at the moment. _

_Don't look so surprised, Tsunade. You knew him years ago as well as Jiraiya's brilliant genius student._

_Now, I don't particularly understand what exactly the _Jikoku Fūin_ entails as it was one of Minato's- sorry, Naruto's spur of the moment things, but they way he described it, Naruto believes that everything will work out quite well. _

_Once you have finished reading this, destroy it and scatter the ashes. I will rest more easily knowing that the letter and the information it holds is safe. Live well, Tsunade, Jiraiya, and do not regret Naruto's leaving- only know that he is having the time of his life as his own father, the Yellow Flash._

_Yours sincerely,_

_Sarutobi Hiruzen_

_Sandaime Hokage_

* * *

Naruto knew that his chakra was off the moment he 'poked' at the small pond that was his reserve. He vaguely remembered that his chakra had felt a little different when he had used it to eavesdrop on Aiko and the Hokage's conversation, but he had no idea it would be like this. The boy sighed.

'Back to a normal genin's chakra reserves,' Naruto thought glumly to himself, conveniently ignoring the fact that he was years away from being a genin himself.

Naruto absentmindedly prepared some instant ramen as he juggled with a milk carton, before setting both foodstuffs onto his table. As he slurped up his precious ramen, Naruto reflected on his stay in Konoha.

Life had been good for the few weeks the former Jinchuuriki had stayed in Konoha for, and he was slowly becoming accustomed to the small differences between Minato's life and his, starting with the not-so-much hatred from the villagers.

Sarutobi had made visits to his apartment nearly every week until it became apparent to Naruto that he was trying to learn more about him. After that, Naruto had just gone to visit the Hokage in his office. It seemed to help earn more of the Hokage's trust, much to Naruto's pleasure.

Naruto arched his back in a long, sinuous stretch before getting up and placing his bowl in the sink. He pulled on his sandals and stomped around in them for a bit, making sure they were securely attached, before exiting his flat and locking the door securely. He pocketed the key before jogging to the elevator and pressing a button.

It was time to start training again.

**

* * *

**

After saying his customary greetings and hellos to a few friendly shopkeepers with stalls close to his unit, especially Teuchi from the Ichiraku Ramen stand, Naruto started jogging slowly through the village's cobble stoned streets, pleased to notice that there were not too many people around due to the rather early hour of the day. He hoped that his child's body was not _too_ out of shape, but then remembered that he had years ahead of him to shape up his physique and speed.

Naruto was pleased to notice that he still contained a large amount of stamina, although nowhere near the freakish amounts that he had when he housed the Kyuubi.

He ended up near a chunin training ground, slightly out of breath but pleased with his performance so far. He rested for a few minutes before starting again at a slightly more punishing pace.

After Naruto was comfortable with the pace he was setting, he let his body go on autopilot while he mused to himself in his mind. He was so preoccupied with his thoughts that he didn't realise he had crashed into someone else until a full five seconds later.

"Watch where you're going, kid!" a sharp voice exclaimed, even as a hand helped him up.

"Sorry, mister," Naruto said apologetically, before raising his head and taking a good look at the man in front of him. "Oh, Tetsuya-san!" he exclaimed. Yakushi Tetsuya, head medic of Konoha General Hospital, looked surprise.

"You have good memory, Minato-kun," he replied, smiling. Just then, Naruto noticed a boy of about his age standing behind the man. Seeing where he was looking, Tetsuya pushed him in front of him.

"This is my son, Katsuo," Tetsuya told him. "He's about your age, I think."

"Hi," Katsuo mumbled, looking down.

"Hey!" Naruto grinned back. "I'm Na- Namikaze Minato!"

Tetsuya smiled at them both before looking curiously at the terrain around them. "What are you doing around the outskirts of Konoha?" he asked Naruto. "It's not a very popular place to be."

"Well then, what are _you-_" Naruto started to say, but cut himself off, realising that he sounded extremely impudent and rude. "I mean, I was just running around here, Tetsuya-san! I heard a couple of people say that heaps of cool ninja trained here!" Even as he said it, Naruto cursed inwards, hoping that he hadn't overdone it. He shouldn't have worried though, as his first sentence caught Tetsuya's attention and made the man grin.

"We're just taking a walk around here," Tetsuya said. "Katsuo kept pestering me about wanting to watch the chunin train around here."

"No way!" Naruto whispered, his eyes going wide, although inside he was cracking up. Maybe pretending to be a six year old with the mindset of one thrice the age wasn't as bad as it originally seemed to be.

"Way," Katsuo corrected, sniffing. "Chichi says some of the ninja around here are so cool!"

"Perhaps you should come around to visit sometime, Minato," Tetsuya offered. "I'm sure my wife as well as Katsuo would love to have you over. We live just over the hill over there."

Naruto squinted. It seemed like a rather isolated place in Konoha to be living in to him, but he refused to comment.

"Thanks, oyaji!" He yelled, and laughed before running off, leaving behind an amused son and a slightly miffed father.

When he thought about it, Naruto belatedly realised that Katsuo must have been Kabuto's adoptive father.

**

* * *

**

After his morning run, Naruto headed back to central Konoha, not surprised one bit to see that the streets were full of bustling civilians going about their daily lives. He ducked into a grocery store, intent on finding some greens to hoard as well as eat for lunch.

"Morning, Kenta!" he yelled over to the shopkeeper. The big burly man grinned and waved back.

"Morning to you as well, Minato-kun!" he called, before turning back to one of his customers. Naruto browsed amongst the store, looking for any familiar looking vegetables that he could buy. Kakashi and Iruka together had plotted to make Naruto eat his greens once, back in his Konoha. Following this, Naruto had a rather large growth spurt, leaving him as tall as Neji or Lee. Naruto had never complained about vegetables again, much to Kakashi's and Iruka's eternal amusement.

Smiling at the nostalgic memory, Naruto stepped up to the counter to ring up his purchases. After saying his goodbyes to Kenta with a promise to come back soon, Naruto lugged up his things to number thirteen.

When he opened the door, the delicious smell of cooking ramen hit his nose and Naruto bounded in, intent on finding out who was the chef.

"Hello, Minato," Aiko said cheerfully as she stepped out of the small kitchen to greet Naruto. The black haired kunoichi was wearing a cooking apron and a wooden ladle. The image almost made Naruto laugh, but he settled for a half choke, half snort instead.

"Hey, Aiko!" he replied as he noticed the small scratch marks around Aiko's face and the few tears in her ninja garments. "What happened to you?"

Naruto puttered around the kitchen busily, putting away his groceries into the fridge and poking his head into the pan, almost earning him a scalded nose, as he wondered what the woman was doing in his aparment. He definitely wasn't surprised that Aiko in, as she occasionally dropped by to see how he was doing, but it was quite unusual for her to drop in at this time of the day.

"Just came back from a mission," Aiko replied casually as she poked Naruto out of the way. "Don't stick your nose in that, brat!"

Naruto stuck his tongue out at her as he flopped onto his sofa and waited for Aiko to finish cooking and elaborate.

"...and I might have lost my keys accidentally as well," she muttered, her voice so low that Naruto had to strain his ear's to hear it.

"You lost your keys?!" Naruto asked in disbelief. One look at the rather peeved expression on the kunoichi's face made Naruto dissolve into giggles. "You lost your keys! And you're always telling me to look after my keys or I'll lose them!"

Aiko scowled before turning back to the ramen and pouring it into two bowls. She set them down on the small dining table and hid a smile as Naruto immediately jumped up and plopped into a chair.

"You're a ninja, aren't you?" Naruto pointed his chopsticks at her. "So jump through the window, or something!" Aiko looked at him curiously. "How did you know I could jump through a window?" she asked.

Naruto gave a nonchalant shrug as he slurped up his ramen, his mind whirring frantically in an attempt to find a plausible excuse.

"Well, I see heaps on ninja running around on rooftops," Naruto started. "So I figured, if they can jump over roofs like that, then why can't they do one of those big ass ninja jumps and go through the window?"

"Language!" Aiko scolded, before grinning. "Smart little kid, aren'tcha."

Naruto grinned.

**

* * *

**

The rest of the week passed rather uneventfully, with Naruto waking up early to go on his morning runs. He had a rather close call with the Sandaime when he asked Naruto why he went jogging so early, but luckily his brain quickly provided an answer, and he laughed a little nervously before telling the Hokage that he had used to do it before he had come to Konoha.

Naruto didn't actually know if Minato had, though, and prayed he was right.

Naruto was out on one of his daily runs at the moment. A few days after he had first started his training, he had plotted out a course to run, mostly taking him to the more isolated areas of Konoha as to avoid unanswerable questions.

He had passed training ground number twenty-seven, a ground reserved for chunin, when he suddenly tripped over a stray rock. Instinctively as he plunged forwards, Naruto ducked his head and pushed his right shoulder forwards in a hasty roll to minimise damage. This skill had been taught to him by an exasperated Jiraiya after a chunin Naruto had started complaining that stray tree branches, rocks and long grasses were out to get him.

"Are you alright?" a strangely familiar voice queried with a faint, snake like rasping tone. Naruto froze before slowly raising his head, meeting the slitted yellow eyes of the snake Sannin, Orochimaru. His eyes widened and he scrambled backwards, knowing that he couldn't even lay a finger on the sannin in his current state.

"O-Oro-" he choked out, hatred starting to fill him as he remembered how the man had stolen Sasuke from beneath his very nose.

"Oi, Orochimaru-chan!" another startlingly familiar voice called. Orochimaru scowled, and then turned away from Naruto in order to mock glare at the source of the rather feminine insult.

"What is it now, Jiraiya?" Orochimaru scowled. "I haven't got time for your antics."

Jiraiya! The thought echoed in Naruto's mind as he stood up shakily, craning his head for a look at his former teacher.

"Hey there, kid!" Jiraiya gave him the thumbs up. "I'm the great and powerful Toad Sage Jiraiya!" he struck a pose and beamed at Naruto.

"Oh, and that's Orochi-teme behind me," he added as if an afterthought. Orochimaru sighed as he crossed his arms.

Despite himself, Naruto laughed as he remembered a similar introduction in his own time.

"What are you screaming about over there?" a feminine voice complained. Tsunade walked up to join her two other teammates and made a face at the antics of Jiraiya.

"Why, I'm merely introducing my most esteemed and extraordinary self to this kid over here!" Jiraiya exclaimed, before leering at Tsunade. "You approve, don't you, Tsunade-hime?"

A punch later and Jiraiya was nursing a rather large bump on his head. "Don't mind him," she told Naruto. "He's just being an arse, as usual. By the way, the name's Tsunade, the pervert's Jiraiya, and it looks like you've already met Orochimaru. "

Naruto grinned. "I'm Minato!" he said, pleased that he hadn't stumbled over his name, before tensing as Orochimaru spoke up.

"As interesting as this conversation must be, my teammates and I must take our leave now," he said in the voice that made shivers go down Naruto's spine.

"Oh yeah," Jiraiya replied sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "Sarutobi-sensei's expecting us in five minutes."

"You mean Sarutobi as in the old man?" Naruto asked, affecting ignorance. The three exchanged surprised glances with each other, before Tsunade chuckled. "You've got nerve, kid," she applauded, ruffling his hair as she walked by. "Sarutobi-sensei's our teacher."

Naruto turned around to watch the Densetsu no Sannin walk away, a strange feeling kindling in his heart as he looked at Tsunade and Jiraiya in particular.

**

* * *

**

Naruto bumped into Katsuo a few times at the market. Most of the time they would talk quite companionably before saying their mutual goodbyes.

A few days later, Aiko appeared through Naruto's window just as he was he was pouring out some cereal.

"You have an invitation," she told him as she kicked off her sandals at the door and plopped herself onto one of Naruto's couches, sighing in content.

"Mrglpwf?" Naruto asked through a mouthful of milk. "What?"

Aiko wrinkled her nose in disgust. "That's disgusting, Minato. Finish chewing before talking next time!" Naruto grinned cheekily and made an exaggerated swallowing motion. "Okay, what do you mean I have an invitation?"

Aiko sat up and faced Naruto. "I was at the hospital today," she elucidated. "I bumped into Tetsuya, who asked me to send an invitation along to you. Turns out he wants you to have dinner over at his estate today."

Naruto jumped up. "Cool!" he exclaimed before his face fell. "...but what am I going to wear?"

Aiko frowned at him before slapping him over the head with a bit of rolled up newspaper. "Idiot," she mumbled under her breath. "Who cares what you wear? That's the kind of stuff you worry about when you get older."

Naruto stuck his tongue out at her. "Well, sor-_ry_ if I have a grown up's mindset!" he replied. Aiko snickered, not knowing how truthful Naruto's words actually were.

"Whatever," she brushed him off. "Do you have any coffee?"

**

* * *

**

Naruto nervously waited at the front door to the Yakushi's house as he hesitantly knocked on the front door. He was feeling rather anxious, as he had never actually been invited over to another person's place for dinner, or for any other kind of event. He wryly remembered that even his friends had never thought to ask for his companionship, and by the time they were older, embarrassment stopped them from making the offer.

"Oh, good evening, Minato-kun!" a middle-aged woman who Naruto guessed to be Katsuo's mother beamed as she wrenched the door wide open and ushered him inside. "Dinner's just being served!"

Dinner was a nice, quiet affair which Naruto found himself enjoying quite immensely. He and Katsuo talked together in hushed tones, plotting Kami-knows-what, while Tetsuya and Mai looked on happily.

"So, Minato," Mai said, as Naruto sat straighter. Katsuo gave his mother a look of vague annoyance. "How are you enjoying your stay in Konoha so far?"

Naruto smiled. "It's great," he replied, mirroring the words he had given the Third Hokage.

"Have you given any thought to becoming a ninja?" Tetsuya asked, wiggling his eyebrows. Mai scowled fiercely and whacked him across the head.

"Tetsuya!" she yelled, before dropping her voice to a more conversational level. "Please excuse my husband," she said, although her eyes betrayed her inner amusement.

"Actually, I think I do want to become a ninja," Naruto scratched the back of his head in slight embarrassment.

"Me too!" Katsuo piped up, flinging an arm across Naruto's shoulders, his dark brown hair brushing across Naruto's face. Naruto twitched, shrinking a little at the unexpected contact, before relaxing and grinning at the older couple. Tetsuya watched him carefully and frowned a little as he saw Naruto's almost imperceptible flinch.

'_Just what kind of a childhood did this boy go through?'_

* * *

Before he knew it, Naruto's anniversary of coming to Konoha had rolled around. Aiko had visited in the morning with a hug and had made ramen just for him, just before wishing him a happy birthday. She had then smiled evilly and handed him a box full of blunted kunai. Apparently she had heard about Naruto's wish to become a shinobi. Naruto had grinned and flung one at her, prompting the black haired woman to look at him with narrowed eyes, before pinning Naruto to the couch and unleashing her own Tickle no Jutsu.

Then, after she was sure that her need for vengeance had been sated, Aiko had told him that the Yakushi family were expecting him over.

"What?! Now?" Naruto yelled, pushing Aiko off him in his mad dash to his room to get into some semi-respectable clothes. Aiko grinned. "Yeah, now!" she called. "Anyway, I'm leaving now. I've got somewhere I need to be!"

Naruto scowled in the depths of his room as he pulled on a dark green jacket over his white shirt emblazoned with his unique swirl pattern. Then he glared at the window as a rather chilling breeze snapped at him and he abruptly sneezed. He slammed it shut, and left the apartment.

**

* * *

**

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MINATO!"

"Wha-what?" Naruto gaped as he entered the Yakushi household. Streamers were hung all over the place, and a huge banner was in the centre of it all. His eyes roaming all around the living room, he took in the presence of the few friends that he had made during his stay in Konoha. The Yakushi family, Aiko and even the Sandaime Hokage had made an appearance, making Naruto feel extremely cheered. Perhaps he had gained Sarutobi's trust after all!

"Sorry about my abrupt exit, Minato," Aiko apologised, although she had a large grin on her face. "I had to stall you while everyone finished the decorations around here."

"Happy birthday, Minato!" Katsuo said happily as he reached Naruto. Naruto immediately smiled. He had never been wished a happy birthday before, even by Sakura or Kakashi. He felt moisture start to well up in his eyes, and forcefully blinked them away. It would not do to cry at his own birthday party, after all.

"Happy birthday, Minato-kun," the Sandaime said benevolently, laying a hand on Naruto's shoulder as he smiled. "You're seven now."

Naruto grinned. "I know! I'm awesome like that, aren't I?"

Sarutobi chuckled before moving away, and Naruto immediately made a beeline for Tetsuya and Mai.

All in all, Minato's seventh 'birthday', as Naruto hesitated to call it his own, was rather the best day of his life. When his head hit the pillow, all Naruto could think of was how lucky and blessed he was to have such good friends that he had.

**

* * *

**

**Author's Notes: **I hope I didn't make the ending too abrupt. Next chapter will be more eventful. Also, does anyone out there know how old he is when Naruto enters the academy? Answers would be very much appreciated.

-Dream Keys

Jikoku Fūin: Time Seal

Chichi: Father (in referral to one's father)


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Notes:** Thank you to all of my reviewers so far! Thanks for sticking with me so far and hope you enjoy this next update.

To the reviewer who said that they felt the story was going a little slowly, here's my answer: I want to capture as much detail as possible. Next few chapters will be more action-packed and I'll there will definitely be a few time-skips. Thank you for your review though!

Thank you to InARealPickle, who gave me the wonderful descriptive and in-depth review to my question last chapter- cookie to you!

Also, to the reviewer who was wondering at the absurdity of my fiction let me just tell you that I'm not quite sane and I love paradoxical things. For instance, time travel!

To the reviewer who theorised that Naruto had taken over Minato's body and asked if the real Minato died at six...you'll have to wait and see. You make me glad to see I can keep you guessing, though!

Sorry for keeping you all waiting, I've been procrastinating as well as studying for a few exams (they're over now though!).

Anyway, here's chapter 4.

* * *

It was a peaceful spring morning, and the tenants of the residential area were waking up to the serene sounds of birds chirping in the air and...the sound of a maniacal cackle scant moments before the door was flung open. A short figure charged outside, followed seconds later by a taller, black haired woman, who was screaming obscenities at the yellow haired child.

"YOU LITTLE BRAT!" Aiko screeched as she tore around the corner. "I'm going to kill you!"

Naruto didn't quite dare look back as he raced through the hallway, marvelling at the fact that he could keep ahead of the chunin. He spied the elevator up ahead and risked one glance back at the black haired, pyjama wearing menace sprinting towards him. Gulping nervously, Naruto made a mad dash for the lift. As soon as he reached it, one hand snaked around to the button and pushed it frantically.

"Oh no you don-" Aiko's voice was cut short as the elevator doors slid shut with a satisfying 'clang'. Naruto breathed a sigh of relief. _Safe._

Naruto hummed quietly as the lift plummeted down, glad to have given Aiko the sli-

"Hello, _Minato-kun._"

Naruto froze.

"I bet you forgot I could jump out of a window, huh?" Aiko smiled sweetly at him. Naruto looked from left to right, and then suddenly gasped in surprise.

"Look, a bird!" he yelled, pointing at the ceiling of the elevator. Aiko instinctively looked up, and Naruto took her momentary distraction as an opportunity to escape. He dived between Aiko's legs and flat out ran for his dear life.

"Wha- hey, brat! BRAT!" Aiko yelled as she whipped around, a flush settling on her cheeks. What kind of an experienced chunin let herself be tricked by something like that?

The residents living in Aiko and Naruto's building block all wondered what the sudden commotion was.

**

* * *

**

"Save me, Katsuo!" Naruto wailed as he waltzed into the other boy's house. "Find me somewhere to hide!" The other boy looked at him in bemusement.

"What?" he asked, as Naruto nervously glanced out of the window. "What did you do this time?"

Naruto said nothing, but jumped up the stairs two at a time and darted into Katsuo's bedroom. Katsuo followed at a statelier pace before grinning as he saw Naruto hide underneath his bed. He flopped onto his bed and pretended to sleep.

Moments later, the door was banged open as a not quite out of breath Aiko stood framed in the doorway. Katsuo leaped off the bed and smiled brightly at her.

"Hi, Aiko-san!" he called, trying to lead her downstairs. Aiko batted away the seven year old's attempts at distraction and squatted down next to the bed, lifting the covers. Bright blue eyes stared back at her, wide with trepidation.

Mischievousness reared its ugly head as Aiko exacted her revenge.

**

* * *

**

"Ah-choo!" Naruto sneezed as Aiko dropped in from the window. He mock glared at that. "Stop doing that!"

Aiko laughed good-naturedly. "You're the one who suggested it in the first place," she retorted. Naruto was about to make a witty comeback when a wave of nausea hit him, causing him to stumble forwards from his standing position.

"Minato!" Aiko cried as he tottered forwards. Naruto grunted as a mind numbing pain pierced his head. In a brief moment of lucidity, he felt another cool breeze drift through the window that Aiko had come in from, and abruptly sneezed again.

Aiko glanced at the window before briskly walking over and closing it gently. Naruto groaned as he felt a strange sensation in his nose. Soon, he discovered that he couldn't breathe, and his eyes bulged rather comically before his mouth dropped open and he started gasping breaths.

"What is this?" he asked pathetically from his prone position on the floor. Aiko gave Naruto a hard glance before picking him up and depositing him in his bed.

"You're sick," she told him. Naruto stared at her like she'd grown two heads and a tail.

"I don't get sick," he said. Aiko sniffed in exasperation. "So you told me last time," she informed him, before tucking Naruto in. "I'm going to get you some medicine."

"I don't get sick," Naruto repeated, but Aiko was already out of earshot.

The rest of the day passed by in a haze of sneezing fits, aching throats and generally feeling sick. By the time Aiko came back, Naruto was already starting to recover, which was speeded along with the help of the various medicines.

Naruto soon fell into a deep sleep.

**

* * *

**

"You're hilarious, you know that?"

"You again!" Naruto shouted, springing to his feet as he pointed an accusing finger at the Yondaime. "I thought you ran away already!"

Minato looked at him sheepishly as he rubbed a hand across the back of his neck in embarrassment. "I've actually been here the whole time. I just haven't been talking much," he explained.

Naruto glared and looked away. Apparently he still hadn't forgiven Minato for his cryptic words which had only served to confuse him. "What's happening to me?" he asked hotly, crossing his arms. Minato raised his eyebrows.

"You're sick," he replied. Naruto stared angrily at him.

"I'm not sick!" he hissed furiously. "I don't get sick because Kyuubi's always there to-" at this, Naruto broke off before his eyes widened in realisation.

"Kyuubi's gone," Naruto murmured quietly. Minato nodded.

"It's out in the world somewhere, probably wreaking havoc wherever it is," he said, hoping Naruto would get the hint. Comprehension struck the younger of the two like a lightning bolt.

"You mean-" he started, but was cut off by Minato.

"Think about it a few years down the track," he said brusquely. "You have other important things at hand."

**

* * *

**

A week later, and all traces of illness were long gone. It appeared that even without the rapid healing ability that the Kyuubi had granted him, Naruto was a fast healer.

He still had his weekly talks with Sarutobi, although each visit made him a little more nervous than the last. Naruto twiddled his thumbs, not meeting the Sandaime's eyes as he looked down at the floor. He randomly noticed with a small amount of annoyance that his feet still did not reach the ground.

"Where's Aiko?" Naruto asked, to break the somewhat awkward silence that had settled over the two. He had not seen Aiko since the week before. Sarutobi chuckled.

"I'm afraid she will not be able to visit you for a few days yet," he replied. Naruto started to speak again, but the Hokage cut him off gently. "She is taking her jounin exams at the moment."

Naruto's mouth snapped shut with an audible click. "Oh," he said.

The Sandaime Hokage smiled benevolently at him. "Don't worry," he reassured Naruto. "I'm sure she's quite fine. Aiko is a very capable ninja."

Naruto could only nod along with the Hokage, hoping that Aiko's jounin exam wouldn't be like his had been.

**

* * *

**

Walking out from the Hokage Tower, Naruto could not help but feel a worried feeling in the pit of his stomach as he wondered how Aiko was doing. He was so preoccupied in his thoughts that he realised he was on a collision course with someone else a fraction of a second too late.

Naruto braced himself for the impact, but still winced as he fell on his backside hard.

'This is becoming a frequent occurrence,' he grumbled to himself.

"Watch where you're going!" the snarl came from the voice of a boy who didn't look much older than him. In fact, the boy looked like...Neji?

"Hiashi-sama?" a softer sounding voice queried. Hiashi turned around, a scowl firmly etched onto his features. "What do you want, Hizashi?" he growled.

"We're going to be late to the academy," Hizashi replied, turning around. Hiashi gave one final sneer before he turned around and stalked after his brother. Naruto blinked. The Hyuuga twins?

"Name's Namikaze Minato!" Naruto yelled after Hiashi. "Nice to meet you too!"

He swore that he could hear the sound of the younger twin laughing, and left in a good mood, intent on enjoying the next few days until Aiko came back.

**

* * *

**

"You'll do," the ANBU informed her, before sheathing his katana. "You should shape up some of your ninjutsu, but you're mostly fine."

Aiko kept a blank face as the ANBU evaluated the rest of her abilities. She was startled as she saw the Hokage appear next to the ANBU, but kept her poker face, sure that this was another underhanded trick.

"Congratulations, Aiko," the Hokage smiled proudly. "I must say that I am very proud to bestow upon you the rank of jounin." Aiko's eyes widened slightly in surprise, but then almost immediately narrowed to almost slits. Then Sarutobi handed her a jounin flak jacket, a knowing smile on his lips, and Aiko knew that it wasn't a ploy to make her lose her guard.

She accepted the vest with reverence and slipped it on.

"Thank you, Hokage-sama," she breathed, bowing low to Sarutobi.

**

* * *

**

"Hey! Guess what?" Aiko yelled as she leaped through the window. Naruto rolled his eyes at the newly promoted jounin's antics as he sat back on one of his couches, watching Katsuo surf through the TV channels while upside down on the other sofa.

"You bought me new stuff?" he asked lazily. Aiko pointed to her new flak jacket proudly.

"Nope, I made jounin!" she grinned. Naruto stuck his tongue out at her even as a feeling of relief washed over him. "Congratulations," he said dryly. Aiko leaned over the back of the couch, faking a put out look.

"Aren't you happy?" she inquired with a mock hurt tone. Naruto twisted around from his position to look at the jounin. An unreadable expression briefly flitted across his face, but it passed as soon as it came to view, making Aiko wonder if she had imagined it or not.

"Anyway, I'm going to go out for a celebratory dinner with a couple of my friends," she announced, walking over to the door. "Want to come?"

Katsuo, who had been fiddling with the television controls, looked up and snorted. Naruto pulled a disgusted face. "I don't want to be around a drunken Aiko," he told her, and to prove his point, he propped his legs up on the coffee table, as if to display his reluctance to leave.

Aiko sulked for a moment before opening the door, giving the two a jaunty wave before slamming the door shut behind her.

"I want to be able to do that," Katsuo said suddenly, startling Naruto.

"What?" he asked, not understanding the other boy's words.

"I mean I want to be able to jump around on roofs like Aiko," Katsuo clarified, smiling at the thought. "Wouldn't that be cool?"

Naruto nodded eagerly. "Yeah, that would," he replied. "So you're going to become a ninja?"

This time, it was Katsuo's turn to nod. "I'm entering the academy next year," he said. Just then, there was a brief knock at the door. Naruto's head whipped around at the sound before he stood up and padded noiselessly towards the door.

"Hey, Minato," Tetsuya greeted. "Is Katsuo there?"

"I'm here," Katsuo called from his awkward position before abandoning the remote and lowering himself carefully to the floor with a small amount of difficulty. Naruto stifled a laugh, but shut up as soon as the other boy sent him a death glare.

"I'll see you later, Minato," the head medic of the Konoha hospital said, before leading Katsuo away.

"See ya!" Katsuo yelled as he turned around. Naruto smiled and waved back. "Bye!" he called back, and waited until they were out of view before walking back inside and closing the door.

**

* * *

**

"Your mission is to retrieve a scroll from a certain person," the Hokage said.

"What classification is it?" Aiko asked. The question was merely a formality, but Aiko said it anyway, to keep routine.

"This mission is a regular C-ranked mission," Sarutobi replied. Aiko tried to suppress the feeling of disappointment, but was only partially successful. The black haired kunoichi had been itching for a higher ranked mission for the past few months, but it seemed that Sarutobi was going out of his way to give her lower ranked missions. She supposed that he did have a reason- after all, Aiko was only a rookie jounin, but still! Even a B-rank mission would have been better.

"Your teammates are Gaishi Yori and Kiriai Akane," Sarutobi continued, not showing any signs of seeing Aiko's distress.

'Ah,' Aiko thought, realising what the two other chunin in the room were doing. She realised that the Hokage was putting her together on a rather harmless mission with two other people she had never met before to test her leadership and team skills. Aiko mentally applauded the Hokage as she turned around to inspect her temporary teammates.

Yori was a lightly built young man who looked to be in his late teens. He had light brown hair and dark green eyes and wore a chunin vest along with a shirt to match his eyes. Standard black shinobi pants with bandages wrapped near his ankles completed his outfit. Aiko's sharp analytical eyes noticed the sheathed ninjato strapped to Yori's back and deduced that he was more of a taijutsu fighter than any other.

In contrast, Akane was an older ninja; probably in her late twenties. Her red hair was tied back in two pigtails, and was covered by a dull black bandana, most likely to hide her brightly coloured hair and make her stealthier.

'Good,' Aiko thought. 'A practical ninja.'

Akane was wearing a loose dark grey shirt without sleeves, enhancing her mobility. Like Yori, she wore practical shinobi pants, although aside from her kunai holster and equipment pouch, she did not seem to have any specialised weapons. Her muscles were not very defined, drawing the conclusion that she either used genjutsu or ninjutsu on a regular basis.

Aiko realised that each individual complemented the team as a whole. Her respect for the Sandaime rose by a few notches.

"Your contact resides in Fuchidori no Sato," Sarutobi said after Aiko was finished with her analysis. "His code name is 'Hibiki' and he is a spy for Jiraiya. He owns a small clothing store in Fuchidori and has black hair with black eyes."

Fuchidori was a middle ground of sorts. It was located just beyond Konoha's north-west borders and was nestled in a small valley between Fire Country, Wind Country and Earth Country.

Aiko looked at the Hokage in surprise. A spy for Jiraiya? Then why was the mission classified as C-rank?

As if predicting Aiko's question, Sarutobi said, "This spy is not an extremely important one, although the information he holds is useful. Retrieve the scroll, but do not open it or let it fall into any other shinobi's hands. If it does, then Hibiki's position may be compromised. The time frame for this mission is about a week's time, including travel to and back."

Aiko turned around to Yori and Akane. "Meet me at the western gate in thirty minutes," she ordered.

The two ninja nodded seriously, before disappearing simultaneously in a Konoha Shunshin. Aiko gave a sharp nod to Sarutobi before using the Body Flicker.

**

* * *

**

Aiko was busy packing her supplies when Naruto opened the door and tramped into her room.

"What'cha doing?" he asked, bounding onto her bed, arms behind his head. Aiko grunted at him and snatched a storage scroll from a shelf before depositing it into her bag.

"Prepping for a mission," she replied as she zipped her bag up. "Around a week, two weeks tops." Naruto jumped back up as Aiko slung her bag over her shoulder and walked out of the room. She stopped abruptly in the middle of her living room, almost causing Naruto to crash into her.

"See you later, Minato," she smiled easily at him, ruffling his messy blonde locks. Naruto beamed back up at her. "Bye, Aiko!" he said. Aiko made a seal and disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

**

* * *

**

"All done?" Yori asked as Aiko arrived. She nodded at him and tightened the straps around her bag. Akane, who was standing next to her, straightened her bandanna. Aiko was pleased to see that the other kunoichi's forehead protector was not glinting in the noonday sun. It was good to know that Akane had not fallen to the stupidity of some other ninja, who polished theirs until they reflected light like a beacon. It was really quite unprofessional.

"Let's go," Aiko said, and with a simple hand signal the three dashed past Konoha's western gate.

**

* * *

**

The trip to Fuchidori Village was rather uneventful, but boring nonetheless. It was a three day trip to the village, and the first two days were spent watching the forest around them slowly diminish until it was nearly a bare plain.

On the third day, the vegetation around them started to grow again, although not even close to the thickness that was the forest surrounding Konoha. Aiko, Yori and Akane made their camp in a small clearing surrounded by a layer of thick vegetation. When morning rolled around, they silently kicked dirt over the remains of the fire and packed away their pallets.

"We'll split up and meet back up here in two hours' time," Aiko said as they reached the crest of the hill, looking down on the village Fuchidori. "Yori, check over the eastern side. Akane, you take the centre, and I'll take the west. Split!"

Aiko used a Henge to transform herself into a nondescript looking middle aged man and entered the village. There were plenty of civilians thronging in the streets of Fuchidori at that time of the day, and Aiko had no trouble mingling in with the rest of the crowd. She kept a sharp eye out for any clothing stores, and entered every single one to make sure she didn't pass it by accidentally.

It was almost two hours later when Aiko finally cleared out her sector. It appeared that Hibiki was not located in her area. Sighing to herself, Aiko walked back up to her team's previous location, releasing her henge as she went.

Aiko was at the top of the hill when she realised that she was on the wrong side. She cursed at her stupidity and turned to leave when she heard the faint displacement of air that usually meant a group of ninja moving as one. Eyes widening, Aiko hid behind the trunk of a large tree and suppressed her chakra as much as she could.

"Only a few more kilometres to go," the voice belonged to a male with a slight accent. Aiko risked a look around the trunk.

Five ninja were standing in a loose circle. All of them were wearing a jounin flak jacket, and Aiko barely had time to blink before they took off again.

'Cloud-nin?' she thought with a slight trepidation. 'What are they doing this far west?'

She stood up abruptly and glanced at the position of the sun in the sky, before realising she was late for her team's rendezvous at the other side of the sharp knoll.

**

* * *

**

"Sorry for keeping you waiting," Aiko said as soon as she touched the ground in front of Yori and Akane. "I saw a Kumo ninja patrol...I don't know what they're doing near Earth Country, though."

"I found Hibiki," Akane said, pointing at the zone she had been searching. Aiko nodded.

"Good," she replied. "We'll go there now and then head back for Konoha."

"Lead on," Yori smiled. "We'll get back to Konoha in no time at all!" Akane nodded, and all three of them reapplied a transformation before heading back into the village.

**

* * *

**

They waited for the last customer to exit the shop. Aiko gave Akane the go ahead signal, and she walked purposefully towards the counter, where 'Hibiki' was standing. The three of them dropped their respective transformations concurrently as the black haired man paled nervously.

"Hibiki?" Akane inquired softly, stepping forwards. Hibiki started sweating bullets and he backed away from the red head.

"I-I don't know who you're talking about!" his voice was in a high pitch from his anxiety. Aiko snorted. "You're a horrible liar, Hibiki," she muttered. The man seemed to compose himself before stepping back to the counter.

"Alright, you got me," Hibiki said in an even tone. "Now, who are you, and what do you want?"

"We are from Konoha," Yori piped up. "Hokage-sama informed us that you are one of Jiraiya-sama's informants and that you have certain...information for us." Hibiki nodded slowly, before reaching into a pocket on the inside of his dark purple jacket.

"Here it is, then," he mumbled, withdrawing a scroll and handing it over to Yori. At Aiko's glance of approval, he placed it in his equipment pouch.

"Will that be all, then?" Aiko asked briskly. Hibiki grunted a yes. "We'll be leaving, then. Good day, Hibiki-san."

Hibiki wasn't even listening anymore as he had gone into the back room as soon as he had said his last word.

**

* * *

**

"That wasn't too hard," Aiko commented as the three leaped through the various trees around them. "Although we've used up quite a bit of the day. Hokage-sama was right when he told us it would take-"

Aiko was cut off as her foot snagged on a wire. She instinctively jumped away as far as she could, screaming "TAKE COVER!" as she saw the multitude of exploding tags rigged across the branch. Akane caught Yori when he stumbled, his footing not even, and leaped away as an explosion rocked the clearing.

"So you survived. Pesky little ninja," a voice said darkly. A man stepped out from behind a tree as Aiko, Akane and Yori fell to the ground.

"Kumo-nin?" Aiko whispered, as another ninja appeared next to their leader. She glanced furtively at their forehead protectors. "No, missing-nin from Cloud," she corrected herself. _Was that why I saw that squad of Cloud ninja from before? Were they tracking these ninja?_

Akane stifled a gasp as a third missing-nin appeared from the underbrush. 'And they're all probably jounin level,' she thought with no small amount of apprehension.

However, that was not what caught Yori's attention. "Hibiki?" he asked in shock as the third ninja turned his head to the side. One last figure emerged from behind a tree, his black hair damp with perspiration.

"What are you doing here?!" Aiko demanded, surreptitiously drawing a kunai. Hibiki darted a glance at Aiko before staring at the ground a metre away from her.

"I-I'm sorry!" Hibiki cried. "T-they made me tell them who you were and w-what you were doing!"

The third nin smirked cruelly, and with a burst of speed, appeared behind Hibiki. He swiftly drew a kunai and plunged it deep into Hibiki's back before twisting it. A muffled groan emerged from the man as he slumped to the floor.

"You are no longer needed," he murmured to Hibiki's corpse. Then he turned back to the Leaf ninja. "And you, I'm afraid, cannot be allowed to live," he continued, running his tongue along the flat side of his kunai, licking up the blood. Aiko grimaced before launching herself forwards at him. Her hands blurred into seals as she hung suspended in the air before coming to a stop on the tiger seal.

"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!" she shouted, a great spurt of flame issuing from her mouth. Yori narrowed his eyes as he drew his ninjato, and nodded to Akane as the two began their tag teaming.

The Cloud-nin danced to the side as the fireball reached him, smirking at Aiko, but he didn't notice the shuriken following it until two sliced into his arms. He hissed furiously at her, throwing a heavy punch at Aiko as she touched the ground again. She twisted to the side, avoiding his blow with ease. As he overbalanced, Aiko swept his feet from under him, but grimaced in dissatisfaction as he sprung up from a handstand, landing on his feet lightly. He raised his kunai, scowling at her. Aiko frowned. He would be more cautious now.

The two collided in a flurry of high speed taijutsu, with Aiko dodging and weaving. Suddenly, she lunged forwards and threw another kunai at him. The ninja leered at her.

"That's not going to work!" he shouted, stepping to one side as the kunai whistled harmlessly by. Aiko merely smiled. The ninja looked on in horror as he discovered that he was entangled in ninja wire.

"W-what?!" he whispered in terror as his back collided forcefully with a tree, the wire digging into his skin. "When?!"

Aiko stared at him for a moment, before smiling. "When I threw the two shuriken at you, I had already attached wire to them. The kunai only served to pin you to the tree. You didn't realise it, but you were trapped from the start." The shinobi flailed about helplessly as Aiko commenced her seal sequence.

Serpent, Dragon, Hare, Tiger.

"Katon: Ryūka no Jutsu!"

The man screamed powerlessly as he was devoured in flames.

_Hiss!_

Aiko gasped in pain as a kunai embedded itself in her shoulder. She cursed at her inattentiveness as her eyes zeroed in on the group of rogue ninjas' leader. Glancing at Yori and Akane, she discovered that the two of them were effectively cutting off the last ninja from helping his leader and cornering him at the same time. She smiled grimly.

'Good, there's only one more to worry about now,' she thought. She was brought out of her reverie by another kunai flung by the first ninja.

"Your inattention will cost you your life!" he roared as Aiko deflected it with another kunai. She slipped into an open taijutsu stance as the leader dashed towards her.

'Fast!' she thought as he appeared before her eyes. She struck out at him, but he seemed to dodge every blow with ease. A niggling sensation entered her mind and she jumped back a few metres, an answer flashing to her in an instant. She brought her hands together in a ram seal.

"Kai!" she called, and the illusion dispelled itself. The lead ninja had actually been several metres away, and was just finishing a seal sequence...

"Raiton: Shuuraiyari!"

Aiko screamed as the ninja collected chakra in his hand and converted it into electricity, its form coalescing into a spear. The lightning spear plunged deep into Aiko's stomach before slashing through her back. Aiko tumbled to the ground, feeling her blood seeping through the fabric of her shirt.

'It's a fatal wound,' she realised numbly as she stared at the spear.

"Aiko-san!" Akane shrieked as she ran over to the jounin. Yori extracted his ninjato from the other ninja's chest and whipped around, dashing over to Aiko as soon as he saw her. Aiko's opponent laughed maniacally as he commenced another seal sequence.

"That's not all!" he shouted. "Raiton: Shuuraimyaku!"

Aiko twisted in agony as the spear imbedded inside of her pulsed a bright yellow light and seared her insides. Blood spurted from her wound, splattering on both Yori and Akane. In a brief moment of awareness through her haze of pain, she glared at her teammates.

"Run!" she said hoarsely, coughing up blood. "I'll...I'll distract him and you make a run for Konoha."

The two started to protest, but Aiko silenced them with one look. "J-just do it," she breathed, a wave of dizziness almost overcoming her. "Finish the mission."

"Alright," Akane whispered as she stood up, pulling Yori with her. "Goodbye, Aiko-san."

Aiko smiled at both of them. "Goodbye, Yori, Akane."

The enemy ninja snarled at them. "You're not going anywhere!" he grated out, hands ready for another jutsu.

"W-wait!" Aiko called to him, and he turned around and sneered at her. Aiko shrugged off her bag with some difficulty, and withdrew the storage scroll she had packed. She looked at the man and weakly chuckled.

"I-I'm gonna finish you off with this," she muttered, before counting to five slowly in her head. He started towards Aiko again, but it was too late. With a grunt of exertion, she unravelled the scroll, and grinned humorously as hundreds of exploding tags appeared, and started burning down simultaneously.

Aiko lay flat on her back as her thoughts flickered to a certain blonde haired brat, and a hint of remorse touched her. "I guess I won't be seeing you again after all, Minato," she whispered.

Aiko smiled peacefully, watching the blue sky as the forest exploded in a huge inferno of exploding tags.

**

* * *

**

"Hey, old man! I want to join the Ninja Academy that starts in a month!" Naruto sang as he darted past the two chunin guarding the door and ran into the Hokage's office. He stopped short at the sight of two ninja standing before Sarutobi, both drenched in the dark crimson colour of blood. The male ninja handed a scroll to the Hokage.

"...Hokage-jiji?" Naruto asked, feeling slightly weak. Yori gave him a cursory glance as he guided Akane out, who was completely covered in blood, a grim parody of her name.

"W-what was that?" he asked the Sandaime as the two chunin left. Sarutobi sighed before covering his face with his hands, not allowing a tear to fall. After a minute, he looked back up, a solemn expression written on his face.

"Aiko is dead, Minato," he said heavily.

**

* * *

**

**Author's Notes: **Whew! I just wrote about 4000 words in one sitting, the rest being all written a day ago! So here it is! First tragedy in the story so far, let me know what you think! It's also the first time I've ever seriously written a fight scene, so tell me what you think of it! Please take your time to review, constructive criticism and suggestions are always welcomed.

When I first started writing this story, I was only really expecting a couple of reviews here and there...but you guys have really proved me wrong! How do you find my story?

-Dream Keys

Fuchidori no Sato: Fuchidori Village (Fuchidori meaning 'border')

Konoha Shunshin: Leaf Body Flicker

Henge (no Jutsu): Transformation Technique

Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu: Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique

Katon: Ryūka no Jutsu: Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique

Raiton: Shuuraiyari: Lightning Release: Lightning Strike Spear

Raiton: Shuuraimyaku: Lightning Release: Lightning Strike Pulse


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Notes:** Thank you for all of your positive feedback and reviews! Here's the next chapter, hope you enjoy it. Reviews, suggestions and constructive criticism is always welcome.

**

* * *

**

The funeral service for Aiko was rather simple in itself. Naruto thought Aiko would have liked it. An empty casket was placed at the cemetery and her name was engraved onto the memorial stone. Reijin Aiko. It occurred to Naruto that he had never known her last name.

He thought it was fitting.

Naruto felt a sudden fit of rage at the two chunin who had accompanied her, but it was followed by a second burst of shame. It wasn't right to blame her teammates, and knowing Aiko, she had probably ordered them to leave. It was late in the afternoon and all of the mourners had left, save Naruto, who had been there the whole day, staring at the cenotaph. He mirthlessly remembered berating Kakashi about doing the same thing.

Naruto sighed, uncomfortable with the coil of emotion in his stomach, and reached out to the memorial stone, the blue polished surface reflecting the afternoon sun at him, temporarily blinding in its brilliance. He traced Aiko's name one last time before expelling a breath and leaving, a single tear tracking its way down his cheek.

**

* * *

**

Over the next month, it seemed that a change had come over Naruto. He still laughed and played with Katsuo, and he still maintained a relatively cheerful demeanour, but there was still a change. He seemed quieter. More...distant. Sarutobi saw this change and was slightly alarmed when Naruto entered his office one chilly morning and calmly sat down and took a seat.

"Hello Hokage...sama," Naruto said. Sarutobi started with surprise, and then peered more closely at the boy. It appeared that Aiko's death had made an indelible mark on Naruto's mind. The Hokage shook his head as he brought himself out of his musing.

"You wanted to see me, Minato?" he answered, clamping his teeth down on his pipe. Naruto sat up straighter in his seat, trying not to betray the wild thumping of his heart beneath his ribcage.

"Yes," Naruto replied. "You haven't given me a form to enter yet."

That was pushing it, and Naruto knew it. Still, he didn't care. He was going to enter the ninja academy, one way or another.

"Ah...Minato-kun," the Third Hokage said, tapping his pipe against his bottom lip thoughtfully. "I have given thought to this matter, but I am rather curious to know- why do you want to enter so much?" Naruto blinked at him, his back ramrod straight as his fingers dug into the firm wood of his chair.

"I want to become a ninja," he said simply, his eyes daring the Hokage to retort. Sarutobi's brow crinkled, but he didn't show any sign of being angered.

"But you do realise that the Hokage himself pays for every orphan's entrance into the academy, don't you?"

Naruto froze. This was not sounding good.

"I would be...grateful-" he started, but he was cut off by the Sandaime. "I don't need your gratitude," Sarutobi told him. "I just merely wish to know your reasons for entering. Most orphans enter a civilian school...although you are clearly not in that case."

Naruto fidgeted for a moment, and then sighed. To hell with all the secrecy. If Minato was right, then whatever he did didn't matter anyway. Sarutobi watched this all with thinly veiled interest.

Naruto relaxed in his chair before bringing his blue eyes up to meet with Sarutobi's. "I'm already a ninja," he said.

Sarutobi's reaction was immediate. The words were barely out of Naruto's mouth before the Hokage was in front of him, a kunai poised at his throat. "Who are you?" he demanded, the cold steel of his blade freezing Naruto's throat.

Naruto resisted the urge to swallow. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto," he said. Sarutobi's knuckles whitened on his kunai. "I am a jounin of the Hidden Leaf village."

The Hokage's eyes widened and he jumped back away from Naruto, although his kunai was still in his hand, ready to be used on moment's notice. "Explain," he ordered coldly, and Naruto shivered inwardly. This was so different from the benevolent man he knew...both from Minato's time, and his own.

"I come from Konoha," Naruto said, his gaze tearing from the kunai to Sarutobi's face. _I'm not lying._"I come from Konoha thirty two years from now."

"And how did you come to be here?" the voice was not as harsh as it had been, but it was still cool. Naruto blushed a bit.

"I was experimenting with one of my father's jutsu," he mumbled quietly. "I accidentally activated a seal array with my blood...and the next thing I know, I wake up in Konoha Hospital six years old again."

There was a small _click_ sound as the kunai disappeared back into its holster. Naruto stared in surprise, but the Hokage merely laughed. "I believe you," he told Naruto.

No. That couldn't be right. Sarutobi may have had a mild and amiable demeanour, but he certainly wasn't stupid. And in his place, Naruto would have been immediately suspicious.

As if sensing Naruto's scepticism, Sarutobi favoured him with a warm look. "Aiko and I believed you were hiding something," he began. Naruto flinched a little at the name of his late friend. "But she also believed it was over something harmless. I confess, I was quite more doubtful than she was, but I think Aiko was right. This must have been the secret you were keeping, correct?"

A bit shocked that Aiko had known that he was keeping something from her, yet still trusted him, Naruto could only nod his head dumbly. He ignored the cynical side of his mind, saying 'She was naive, she was naive'.

The Hokage walked around to the side of his desk and rummaged around in a drawer before producing a sheet of paper with a flourish. He handed a pen to Naruto, who took it and picked up the paper. It was his enrolment form into the ninja academy.

"O-old man," he whispered, awed that Sarutobi would still trust him. The Hokage fixed him with a piercing stare.

"You will of course, inform me of more details in the future," the statement was not a question. Naruto nodded hastily, and signed the slip. As he turned to leave, Sarutobi stopped him. "The academy starts next week," he said.

**

* * *

**

The week went by rather quickly, and during it, Naruto's eighth birthday passed without much fuss. He was once again invited over to the Yakushi house, and he did enjoy himself, but his mind was far from the present.

The day after, he had gone to a ninja store, picking out suitable attire for his new career. He emerged from the shop dressed in a long sleeved white shirt with black and dark gray stripes down the length of his shoulder to his sleeves. Black shinobi pants with the shin bandages completed his outfit.

**

* * *

**

"Hey, Minato!" Katsuo's cheerful voice entered Naruto's consciousness. "So you managed to join, too!"

"Morning, Katsuo," Naruto replied as the two of them sat down at a nearby bench. He gave a rueful smile at the swing hanging from the large tree in front of the building. "The old man enrolled me himself."

Katsuo looked at him oddly. "Hokage-sama isn't that old, Minato," he told Naruto, who grinned back at him in return. Just then, the bell rang and the two of them stood up, ready for a day at the academy. Naruto smiled inwardly, his trained eyes picking out the eager looking students in his and Katsuo's class. They didn't know what they were in for.

**

* * *

**

"Welcome to your first day at the Ninja Academy," the tall, white haired man said, although he was by no means old. "My name is Kasshoku Takuma, and you may call me Takuma-sensei. I will be your chunin instructor for your class for the next four years."

There was a small outbreak of murmurs as the new students started to converse amongst themselves.

"Quiet!" Takuma rapped on the blackboard loudly, catching the students' attention. "I will now read out the class roll. Please answer if you are present."

Knowing that it would be a while before his sensei got to his name, Naruto lost himself in his thoughts and looked out of the huge windows, open wide for easy access, and escape should it become necessary.

"Namikaze Minato."

Naruto didn't hear him, too wrapped up in his thoughts. Katsuo nudged him, jolting Naruto out of his musings with a start.

"Namikaze Minato?" Takuma inquired again, sending a look at Naruto. Naruto hastily straightened in his seat. "Sorry, Takuma-sensei. I'm here."

When Takuma was finished with the roll, they moved onto a much more fascinating subject – history.

Wait, history? Fascinating?

Naruto could barely stop himself from going slack-jawed at the rapt enthusiasm he was showing for learning about the First Hokage. He pulled out his history textbook when his teacher indicated for the class to do so, and quickly scanned the words, drinking in the glorious intake of knowledge.

Was it Fate? Was it retribution for his slacking off in his previous time? Naruto didn't know, but one thing he knew for sure was that reading was definitely a good thing on his list.

Next to him, Katsuo was sending him strange looks, but Naruto ignored them in favour of reading about the Shodaime's kekkei genkai. It was strange, he mused, that he would find history (and reading) so interesting now. Before, he had hated anything written with a passion. Then, after he had become a chunin, Jiraiya had told him that he needed to study more in order to understand more about Konoha. Initially, he had whined, but after a stern reprimand from the white haired pervert he had gotten to his studies, albeit rather half heartedly.

Here, though...

**

* * *

**

Lunch came almost too quickly, and the class trooped out, loud talking being heard. It seemed that most of the class had already branched off into separate friendship groups, not that Naruto really cared. He and Katsuo were on their way to the stone bench they had sat on earlier, when a certain black haired someone crashed into Naruto, sending both of them tumbling to the ground.

"Watch where you're GOING!" a familiar voice growled as Naruto felt a vague sense of déjà vu. He slowly clambered off the ground to look into the pupiless white eyes of Hyuuga Hiashi. Naruto glared right back at him, not liking his arrogant attitude one bit. He noticed Hizashi appear behind him, and prayed that he would distract Hiashi enough so that he and Katsuo could get away.

"You're the one who ran into me," he retorted coolly when Hizashi did not appear to be making a move, and was about to leave when he felt an arm grab onto him. Naruto immediately tensed, instincts calling for him to throw his opponent onto the ground.

"Are you insane?!" Katsuo hissed into his ear. "He's the heir of the Hyuuga clan! And they're...well, they're really powerful! You shouldn't mess with them, Minato."

Hiashi laughed. "At least one of you has manners," he drawled. Hizashi had a pained expression on his face. "Hiashi-sama..."

Naruto clamped down on his mounting anger and steered Katsuo away. "No point wasting time with someone like him," he muttered, intent on having his lunch. Naruto got no further than three paces forwards when he heard the recognizable sound of displaced air as the Hyuuga heir attempted to use a palm strike. Naruto dodged at the last second, pushing Katsuo away from him as he whirled around, sweeping the older boy's legs out from under him.

Hiashi rose quickly, his Byakugan flaring to life as he glared at Naruto. Hizashi lightly tapped his arm.

"Hiashi-sama, please do not create a scene," he began, but was backhanded by his brother. Hiashi sneered at him for a second before placing one hand in a seal. Naruto, seeing Hizashi's look of horror and the grim satisfaction on Hiashi's face, immediately deduced what was happening and disappeared in a blur of speed, knocking aside Hiashi's hand as he was about to activate the Hyuuga family's curse seal. He smiled grimly. 'I guess that extra speed practice paid off,' he thought grimly, and retracted his hand. Meanwhile, Katsuo looked on in awe, amazed that Naruto could hold his own against an upperclassman, the Hyuuga heir no less.

Hiashi sent another vicious stare at Naruto before stomping off, not even waiting for his younger brother. The crowd that had started to gather dissipated again, leaving Naruto and Katsuo alone.

"Minato, I never knew you could do that!" Katsuo exclaimed, looking at Naruto with wide eyes. Naruto shifted uncomfortably. "It's not something I advertise," he replied as the two of them finally sat down for lunch.

**

* * *

**

When class began again, Takuma took Naruto's class down to the practice fields for basic instruction in taijutsu and kunai and shuriken throwing. He demonstrated a few times, and then let the class practice by themselves. A few minutes later, Takuma called them all back together and made each person go up and throw three kunai and three shuriken at a target five meters away.

Compared to the distances Naruto was used to, it was almost pathetically easy. He watched as his fellow academy students struggled to throw the weapons properly, and smiled inwardly as he saw them cheer at a lucky throw. Soon enough, they'd be able to throw a kunai straight. Mentally shrugging, he walked up to the line as Takuma-sensei called his name.

He locked his eyes onto his kunai, and traced his wanted trajectory path before he drew it back and flung it at the brightly painted target.

Naruto was disappointed. Before, at a five meter target, his kunai would have punched straight through. This time, however, it only made a solid 'thunk' as metal embedded itself in wood. The rest of the class was silent as Naruto lined up the next five throws, all of them clustered at the centre of the target. Takuma nodded approvingly at Naruto as he slouched back to the end of the line, hearing whispers erupt behind him as he passed his fellow classmates.

Inwardly, he grinned. It looked like he wasn't the dropout anymore.

**

* * *

**

The next week flew by in a blur, with Naruto waking up to the same routine each morning: waking up, doing a few stretches before having a solid breakfast, packing his lunch, then setting out of his apartment for the short walk to the Ninja Academy. There he would stay for almost eight hours, learning the things that one would expect from an academy student.

These were also called 'the basics'. Naruto was amazed at how many things he had missed in his previous life. While he could have been learning things that could possibly save his life later on, Naruto had been goofing off, playing pranks and generally annoying the whole community. He cringed when he reflected on it now.

Much to Katsuo's disbelief, Naruto also began visiting the Konoha Library, which was built into the Hokage Monument. There, after convincing the librarian that he was a ninja in training, he was allowed to peruse the numerous jutsu scrolls in the ninja section. There, he found a veritable wealth of information. Once again, Naruto found himself cursing his previous self's stupidity.

Later, he'd used a transformation to turn into a middle aged jounin, and had snuck into the room where the higher level techniques were stored, although he never borrowed them. He did, however, take some of the lower level jutsu scrolls, even if they were meant for most genin or chunin. It wasn't as if the librarian cared, anyway.

Returning home, Naruto placed his borrowed scrolls into a shelf situated in a small alcove and kicked off his sandals. He walked over to a bare wall, and placed his hands in a ram seal, a typical seal for focusing chakra. Then, feeling the chakra exude from his feet, Naruto walked over to the wall, climbing to the top before dropping down again. It wasn't the same as the climbing trees exercise that Kakashi had made him do, as the wall had no purchase at all, and was completely smooth, but in a way it helped as it was a different surface to work on.

Naruto practiced walking up and down the wall almost a hundred times before dropping lightly to the floor again, mildly annoyed at the slight fatigue he was feeling. Naruto still had a tiny amount of chakra compared to the amount he had before, but it was slightly improving due to the chakra exercises he was putting himself through. He was definitely pleased that his control and strength was returning. Besides, the lowered amounts of chakra could be useful – he could now utilise the Bunshin to its fullest extent without any trouble now. Although, with a rueful shake of his head, Naruto realised that his Kage Bunshin – his most prized technique, even after he had become a jounin – would be severely limited.

**

* * *

**

Naruto's new attitude concerning hard work and research seemed to rather annoy Katsuo. One day at lunch, he huffed angrily as Naruto reached into his bag for another theory book. Naruto sent an inquiring look at his friend.

"You never have time to play anymore!" Katsuo exclaimed, his repressed irritation getting the better of him. "It's always 'jutsu this' or 'theory that'! You're going to the library every day now! Don't you want to have fun anymore?"

Naruto narrowed his eyes and suppressed a bitter retort at his friend's words. "It's interesting," he settled for instead. Katsuo threw his hands up.

"You'll become a librarian at this rate," he exclaimed, rolling his eyes. "You've probably devoured half of the library already." Naruto shook his head.

"Not a librarian," he corrected quietly. "A well informed shinobi." Katsuo shrugged as he finished off the last of his lunch.

"Whatever," he blew Naruto off. "Same difference."

A cold silence descended between the two, making Naruto feel rather awkward and wanting to make amends...but Katsuo was already walking away.

**

* * *

**

When Naruto returned to the classroom after lunch, Katsuo was seated in a bench further down below, and all of the seats were already filled save for one in the back row next to a girl named Kasumi. He greeted her quietly as he took his seat, regret already passing through his mind. Kasumi smiled back cheerfully as she returned his hello, brightening Naruto's mood a little.

He sat back as Takuma-sensei began to talk about the theory behind the Bunshin no Jutsu and asked an Uchiha by the name of Fugaku to explain what he knew about the jutsu, a barely noticeable smile playing across his features.

**

* * *

**

**Author's Notes: **Well here it is! I'm really going on my own instincts here to write about the academy and I've already got a vague idea about how I want to plan the academy. Reviews, constructive criticism and suggestions are welcomed.

I wanted to portray a fight between friends, which is actually a common occurrence. Please tell me how I did!

Question: Does the Hyuugas' curse seal actually have a name? I've searched, but I haven't come up with any answers yet, although I have heard the name 'Caged Bird Seal' or something similar quite a bit. I'm hesitant to use it until it's confirmed though.

Note: I based Naruto's new clothes on the Team Jiraiya picture on Narutopedia. However, I'm completely ignoring the two random other teammates that Minato's acquired.

They don't even get names or a mention, for crying out loud!

-Dream Keys

Bunshin (no Jutsu): Clone

Kage Bunshin: Shadow Clone

**NOTE:** As of 5/9/09, some random FFnet bug has popped up, and now I'm unable to upload chapters. It might be a while before I can, so hang on tight.


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Notes: **Thanks to all my wonderful reviewers yet again, and a special thank you to my anonymous reviewer **manieeea**, who pointed out the mistake in Chapter 1. Looks like I should read over my work a bit more carefully! The problem's been fixed.

Sorry it's rather late- FFnet decided it would do some random maintenance thing, and when I tried to upload it failed.

**

* * *

**

"Is anything the matter, son?"

"...No, nothing's wrong."

Tetsuya frowned slightly at his eight year old son, who had been rather moody and grumpy after one particular day at the academy. "Does this have anything to do with Minato?" he asked carefully, leaning in the doorway.

SNAP!

The medic-nin flinched in surprise as the pencil Katsuo was holding snapped in half, the boy's knuckles white from gripping the object so hard. He winced in pain. Tetsuya was quickly by his side, and with the practiced ease of an experienced medic, he removed the small splinters from Katsuo's hand. When he was done, he raised an eyebrow at him. Katsuo flushed a little.

"We had a fight," he muttered, looking away.

"Then make up to him," Tetsuya replied, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world to do. Katsuo scowled at him. "It's not as easy as that!" he exclaimed hotly, his hands clenching into fists.

Tetsuya tapped his nose. "You still want to be his friend though," he said softly. "It doesn't matter what the nature of your argument was. You two are normally the best of friends. Don't let a petty quarrel stop that."

Then he turned around and left, leaving Katsuo much to think about.

**

* * *

**

"Repeat that again please, Sarutobi-sensei," Jiraiya said, but it wasn't a question. The Third Hokage sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose with one hand, the other fiddling with his old pipe.

"Reijin Aiko, Gaishi Yori and Kiriai Akane were assigned a C-rank scroll retrieval mission," Sarutobi replied, jamming the pipe in his mouth and taking a deep drag.

The names meant nothing to Jiraiya, who lifted an eyebrow. "If you don't mind me saying, sensei, but please get on with it..." he prompted, trying not to let frustration get the better of him. Sarutobi nodded and set down his pipe again.

"They were given the task of relieving your contact 'Hibiki' of a scroll pertaining to border activity, in Fuchidori Village."

Jiraiya's eyes narrowed at the mention of his contact's name. In times like these, Sarutobi mused, Jiraiya's personality was a far cry from what he showed to the general populace. "What happened?" the white haired Sannin asked, half dreading the answer.

"They were ambushed by Kumo missing-nin," Sarutobi answered. "Hibiki betrayed them, and was immediately killed by one of the ninja."

"Damn it!" Jiraiya cursed, glaring at his teacher. "Why did you wait weeks until you told me this?" Sarutobi pursed his lips, looking unaffected by Jiraiya's outburst.

"You were on a mission," the Sandaime retorted. "But enough of that. What do you think of it?"

Seconds trickled by without a word from either of the two. "It's strange," Jiraiya finally said, shaking his head. "What were Kumo missing-nin doing so close to their borders? They were beaten by a jounin and two chunin, which leads me to the conclusion that they were not particularly stro-"

"Don't say that," Sarutobi interrupted, giving Jiraiya a stern look. "Aiko sacrificed her life to stop these ninja."

Jiraiya's mouth hardened, but he nodded all the same. "Very well. However, Iwa hunter-nin and border patrols would have had no trouble hunting them down and killing them. Those ninja would have known it. So why did they linger so close to another country's borders?"

"You suspect that...?" Sarutobi trailed off, but he straightened in his seat, hands gripping the table in front of him. "Are you sure?"

Jiraiya nodded grimly, his lips a thin line. "I request permission to leave Konoha for a while and tie up some loose ends with a few acquaintances of mine," he said, giving Sarutobi a meaningful look. The Hokage acquiesced. "Permission granted," he replied.

**

* * *

**

Two months had passed, with each day starting with the same old routine. Each day, Naruto had gone to school with the hope that Katsuo and he would become friends again...just like before. However, with each passing day that hope grew dimmer. Naruto wondered if Minato had ever been like he was now.

Naruto swung his feet a little and shifted into a more comfortable position on the plank of wood that served as a swing. During the time he had been at the academy following Katsuo and his departure on less than friendly terms, Naruto had devoted most of his time to studying and training, especially in the department of his chakra reserve. Most days after school he could be found climbing trees, walking on water, or a completely new exercise in a bid to increase his reserves.

After all, one could not really attempt to use a jounin ranked technique if just one of them completely depleted one's reserves.

Two months had done a wonder for the blonde haired boy. Slowly, he had begun to thaw, by no means forgetting about Aiko, but not as numb as he had been previously. Strength and speed training had made Naruto fitter, and he thought that a few of his classmates were actually jealous of him.

The slight crunch that the grass made under a person's foot made Naruto stiffen almost imperceptibly. He turned around to face...Katsuo? Naruto's heart skipped a beat as he stared at the boy he had been carefully avoiding for the last two months.

"Hey, Minato," Katsuo said, averting his gaze, looking anywhere but at Naruto. Naruto shifted on the hard wood again so that he was facing the other boy. "Katsuo," he replied cautiously, not knowing the reason for his sudden visit. An uncomfortable silenced descended between the two for what seemed like hours.

"I wanted to apologise!" Katsuo blurted out, unable to stand the tension any longer. "It was wrong of me to get angry because...because you wanted to study." Naruto stared at Katsuo, eyes wide in shock.

"I talked to my father," Katsuo continued hurriedly. "He said...he said we shouldn't stop being friends just because of some stupid argument."

Naruto grinned, the heavy feeling that had been burdening him for the past few weeks suddenly lifting from his chest. "It's okay!" he replied happily, jumping off the swing. "I guess I should stop studying so much as well, then."

"No!" Katsuo exclaimed, looking scandalised. "Don't do that!" At Naruto's curious look, he elaborated.

"I guess I got annoyed because I didn't like theory and studying and all that stuff...but then I realised that you were more serious about being a ninja than I was," Katsuo mumbled glancing down at his feet. His jaw dropped as Naruto grabbed him by the arm and started dragging him to the stone bench that was their usual spot, eliciting a 'hey!' from the brown haired boy.

When class resumed, Katsuo and Naruto were sitting together again for the first time in two months.

**

* * *

**

"Oh, hello Minato," Jiraiya greeted absently as he noticed the blonde boy beside him on his way to the Hokage Tower. Naruto noticed that the Sannin seemed rather distracted.

"You remember my name!" Naruto exclaimed in surprise, earning a chuckle from the older man.

"I've got a great memory, kid," he replied as they walked through the entrance. "Are you visiting Sarutobi-sensei as well?" Naruto nodded emphatically, starting to climb the stairs along with Jiraiya.

"I reckon I'm after you, though," Naruto said thoughtfully, tapping his chin. Jiraiya smiled and snapped a jaunty salute at Naruto as he stepped through the door. Naruto took a seat outside the Hokage's office, watching the chunin discretely out of the corner of his eyes. Once he was satisfied that they weren't much of a threat, he channelled a small thread of chakra towards his ears, enhancing his hearing.

"...word that the Iwa forces were mobilising, although I don't know what for." The voice belonged to Jiraiya, and Naruto almost fell off his seat when he mentioned Iwa.

'Why would they be- oh,' Naruto thought to himself, the beginnings of panic entering his mind. 'The Third Great Shinobi War...'

"Have you learned anything on the missing-nin?" This time, it was Sarutobi who spoke. There was a brief pause, in which Naruto thought that Jiraiya might have shook his head.

"I did some discrete snooping around, and there are no missing-nin in the bingo book or not that match Yori-san and Akane-san's descriptions. I'm afraid I couldn't find anything on them."

"So, a dead end," Sarutobi summed up. "It seems that Kumo is very good at hiding their tracks. Very well, it seems we will have to continue our investigations, although even more caution must be exercised from now on, or we will risk an international incident. Dismissed, Jiraiya."

"Hai, sensei."

Naruto hastily stopped the flow of chakra to his ears, but remained in his semi slouching position on his chair, making sure not to attract any of the ninjas' attention. Many shinobi made the mistake of hurriedly straightening just before they were caught eavesdropping; this was in all actuality not a very wise move to take.

That lesson had been drilled into his head by Jiraiya, Naruto noted with no small amount of irony.

"Hey, brat! Sarutobi-sensei will see you now!" Naruto kept himself from making a face at Jiraiya as the pervert stepped out of the door.

"Yeah, yeah. See you, Ero-sennin!" Naruto retorted as he brushed past the toad hermit, mentally preparing himself for a talk with the Hokage.

**

* * *

**

Four years later, Naruto came to the conclusion that in Minato's time, the academy had a much more in depth curriculum. Not only did academy students learn the basic Bunshin, Henge and Kawarimi, but they also additionally learnt a few simple ways of dispelling a genjutsu, a few low level ninjutsu and much more taijutsu, although the way it was taught left it open to interpretation, making the academy taijutsu styles rather flexible.

Naruto thought that the ninja of this time were much more prepared than he and the rest of the Rookie Nine had been.

The four years had been rather beneficial to Naruto. His training and studying had paid off, leaving Naruto knowing that he was much more prepared than he was in his old time. His chakra reserves had grown exponentially, which was extremely satisfying, and his control was much better than it had been. Naruto could easily say that 'Minato' was at a much higher level than Naruto had been at his age.

Then again, 'Naruto' never had access to seventeen years worth of ninja knowledge.

Naruto blew a stray strand of hair out of his face as he propped his chin up with both hands, his elbows resting on the table. He watched as Takuma stepped up to his table and clapped his hands together.

"Alright!" he barked at the class. The room full of twelve year old graduate hopefuls was instantly silent. "Today is the day of your Genin Exam. Come up to the podium when your name is called."

Naruto smiled. The exams started easily enough, nearly completely mirroring his previous exam with the three basic techniques that they had learned. He heard his name being called, and stood up, stretching before walking through the aisle to the front of the room, feeling warmed by the 'good luck' he had received from Katsuo.

"Please perform the Bunshin technique and create three clones," Takuma instructed, a clipboard and pen at the ready as Naruto slowly went through the hand seals.

"Bunshin no Jutsu!" There was a slight distortion in the air, and the required three clones materialised. Naruto stopped himself from grinning, even though he had already known he could do it. Takuma dipped his head in approval, and scribbled something on his clipboard.

Naruto sauntered back to his seat, and proceeded to wait for the rest of the class to finish showing Takuma the Bunshin no Jutsu. He bid a nervous Katsuo good luck as Takuma called out his name, after a flawless attempt by Fugaku, earning himself a shaky smile in response.

Katsuo did as well as Naruto had thought he would. The future head of Konoha Hospital had good chakra control, like his father, and produced the required amount of clones needed easily. Naruto surmised that Katsuo's fears were rather unfounded.

The Yakushi had been the last name on the list, so shortly after Katsuo finished, the class trooped outside to a training field where Takuma instructed them to throw ten shuriken at a fifty metre human shaped wooden target. Naruto had no difficulties with this, as his mind immediately calculated the amount of angle and strength he put into each throw. Each shuriken landed firmly in a vital spot on the target, most of them clustered around the heart.

After this, a few more chunin instructors appeared. Takuma explained the nature of the next test.

"Each instructor will now place one of you students under a mild genjutsu. You will attempt dispel the technique within the time limit of five minutes."

Naruto watched as a short woman with white blonde hair approached him and smiled a warm, encouraging smile before her hands performed the snake and rat seal in quick succession.

"Magen: Narakumi no Jutsu!" she called simultaneously with the other examiners. A circle of leaves spiralled from the sky and surrounded Naruto before whooshing away with barely a whisper. The leaves, which had previously obstructed Naruto's vision, were now gone, leaving Naruto staring warily at his surroundings. There was a slight rustle around him, and he whirled around, hand automatically going for his kunai holster. What he saw made him pause in horror.

Aiko was sprawled on the ground, bleeding heavily from various cuts that littered her body. Kunai were embedded in her, and there was the gruesome _splish, splosh, splash_ of life blood dripping out onto the ground.

Naruto narrowed his eyes at the image before him before raising his hands in a seal. "Kai," he said flatly, stopping the flow of chakra around his body for a second, before spiking it sharply. The vision of Aiko fell away, leaving a bemused instructor standing in front of him.

"That was quick," she remarked, staring at all of Naruto's other classmates, who were still under the influence of the demonic illusion. "Ten seconds."

Naruto grunted, suddenly feeling intensely annoyed at the woman, before releasing his anger, knowing that the genjutsu only preyed on the mind of the victim, bringing up horrifying images in order to make him lose his concentration.

**

* * *

**

After lunch, Naruto stared at the written test before him. Takuma passed the rest of the papers around, before setting an alarm clock on the table at the front of the large classroom. "Start now," he said, pressing a button on the clock. It started ticking.

Naruto turned the page, unsurprised at the questions that were on the page. They were basic academy questions, along with a few various history questions. Naruto knew the answers to all of them, to his vague surprise.

He was finished less than halfway through the time limit, so he spent the rest of the test doodling randomly on the test pages, bored out of his mind.

A Yondaime Hokage somehow managed to make its way onto his page, and Naruto's mind went into a panic attack as soon as it registered what he had drawn. He hastily rubbed it out with an eraser, trying to control his breathing. Katsuo sent him a look of veiled curiosity, but Naruto ignored it.

'Stupid,' he berated himself, resolving not to have such a lapse of concentration in the future.

**

* * *

**

They were given a break period of about half an hour while Takuma and the rest of the chunin examiners marked the group's papers. When they were called back in, Takuma read out the list of the students who had passed.

Naruto smiled when he heard Katsuo's name being read out. Katsuo cheered, enthusiastic, until Naruto flicked him with a finger, telling him to get over himself.

"And this year's Rookie of the Year is Namikaze Minato!" Takuma read out finally, after reeling out the names of the newly appointed genin. Naruto scowled at the title, much to the bemusement of the boy sitting beside him. The scowl quickly morphed into a look of horror as several girls in the class squealed with glee before staring at him with complete adulation in their eyes. Fortunately, it seemed that not many had managed to pass the exam. Naruto gave them a look of abject horror. Takuma dismissed the class with the final instructions to come back in a week's time.

Naruto would have felt sorry for the people who hadn't passed, but he was already quite busy. "See you later!" he yelled back at Katsuo as he tore out of the classroom, fleeing with all of his speed towards his apartments, away from his horde of admirers.

**

* * *

**

"Welcome back to class!" Takuma announced as the last student filed in. "As of today, you are now officially genin of Konoha. To get here, you faced many hardships and trials, but that's nothing. What comes next will be far more difficult than anything you've faced so far."

Naruto scowled. Did all of the chunin compare notes or something? Takuma's speech sounded almost exactly the same as Iruka-sensei's had.

"You are all genin, first level ninja. All of the genin will be placed in a three man squad, led by a jounin, an elite ninja. I will now announce the squads."

Naruto was now rather curious. In all of his history textbooks that he had read, none had ever covered the Yondaime's teammates. He shrugged. As long as his teammates weren't complete idiots, Naruto could live with that.

"Team Two will be comprised of Yakushi Katsuo, Kaori Kasumi and Namikaze Minato."

Naruto grinned. He was with Katsuo! He searched for his other teammate, the girl who Naruto had sat with on the day of his disagreement with his best friend. Kasumi gave Naruto a wave, which he returned cheerfully, still happy about his team members.

Meanwhile, Takuma had finished announcing the squads. "Your jounin instructors will be here to pick you up soon," he said, before nodding his head towards his class. "It has been a pleasure to teach this class."

Then he left, passing by presumably the jounin instructors as he opened the door. A few jounin entered and made for their presumed underlings, but Naruto only had eyes for one person. A shaggy white haired young man walked in last, a grin on his face.

"Hey! I'm the legendary Jiraiya, and you're my little genin kiddies! Don't worry, we're going to have a wonderful time together, I promise!"

"Dream on, Ero-sennin," Naruto muttered, although he was inwardly jumping for joy.

**

* * *

**

**Author's Notes: **Ew. The make up scene was rather cheesy in my opinion...but anyway tell me what you think! Sorry if it seems a little hurried, but I quite wanted to skip to the time where Naruto becomes a genin. I just randomly made up Naruto's team number as it didn't actually specify what Minato's team was called- just Jiraiya as far as I've seen. Reviews, constructive criticism and suggestions are always welcome.

7/9/09 EDIT: Thanks Stalker of Stories, who pointed out my rather glaring mistake where I wrote 'Iwa-nin' instead of 'Kumo-nin'. I wasn't thinking all too clearly, it seems.

-Dream Keys

Ero-sennin: Perverted Sage (Pervy Sage)

Bunshin (no Jutsu): Clone Technique

Henge (no Jutsu): Transformation Technique

Kawarimi (no Jutsu): Substitution Technique

Magen: Narakumi no Jutsu: Demonic Illusion: Death Mirage Jutsu

Kai: Release, cancel


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Notes: **Thanks to all of your fantastic reviews, and once again thanks especially to **Stalker of Stories**, who pointed out a stupid mistake in chapter 6. Thankfully, FFnet is back to normal so I won't have to continually overwrite my previous documents in order to get a new chapter updated.

From this point on, (I hope) the story gets a little more interesting =].

**

* * *

**

"Why don't you tell me about yourselves?"

"About what, sensei?" Kasumi asked, blinking curiously at Jiraiya. The white haired pervert shrugged nonchalantly. "Oh, I don't know," he replied, infuriatingly. "What about your likes, dislikes, that kind of stuff. Oh, and dreams for the future! That's good, too!"

Naruto made a face. He sounded almost exactly like Kakashi-sensei! Jiraiya pointed at him. "You, blonde haired brat. You go first." Both Katsuo and Kasumi looked half offended on Naruto's behalf, but he simply grinned and waved them off. "Why don't you go first then, Ero-sennin?" he asked.

Jiraiya shrugged. "My name's Jiraiya. I like writing my books and..." he giggled here, "research. I dislike arrogant bastards who are extremely egotistical. And my dream for the future...is for Icha Icha to become a bestselling novel!" After striking a pose, Jiraiya pointed at Naruto. "Go," he told him.

"Let's see..." Naruto started, planning his speech.

"My name is Namikaze Minato. I like ramen, training and..." Naruto trailed off, before he shot a sideways look at Katsuo and smirked. "Books. I dislike bigoted or arrogant people, and perverts." At this, Jiraiya looked horrified, although that look quickly changed to one of indifference once Kasumi narrowed her dark brown eyes in his direction. "Dreams for the future? I'm going to become the best Hokage ever!"

Jiraiya cleared his throat and pointed at Kasumi, trying to look disinterested at Naruto's short monologue. "You next."

Kasumi nodded and looked thoughtful for a while. "I'm Kaori Kasumi. I like dango, I guess," she said finally, blushing and somewhat embarrassed. "I also like reading stories and..." the blush deepened. "Sharpening kunai knives."

The three males' eyebrows shot up at this admission, and the poor girl's cheeks flamed red, before abating somewhat. Composing herself, Kasumi worked up the courage to continue. She shot a dark look at Jiraiya. "I dislike perverts, and I'd _love_ to use a kunai to-"

Kasumi's rant ended mid-sentence as she abruptly broke off, looking mortified at her outburst. Naruto was torn between howling with laughter and looking stricken with horror, while Jiraiya was too busy looking aghast to notice her ongoing awkwardness.

"...and I want to become a great shinobi. That is my dream," she finished, barely whispering. There was a pregnant pause amongst the four.

Jiraiya cleared his throat after a while, and jabbed his finger in Katuo's direction.

"My name's Yakushi Katsuo! I like playing games, training, and learning new jutsu," Katsuo informed him. "I dislike doing homework and studying. My dream is to become the next head of the Konoha Hospital after my father and a great medic-nin like Tsunade-sama!"

"You've got a long way to go before you reach that goal, kid!" Jiraiya told him, although he was privately nodding in approval. "Fortunately, you are under the services of the great Jiraiya-sama! You'll definitely get it!"

Naruto was waiting for a 'but' in Jiraiya's sentence. Like he predicted, it arrived all too soon.

"But there's a little something you have to do before you become full time genin," he said. "There's another test you have to do."

"Another test?!" Katsuo exclaimed, waving his arms around wildly in the air. "Why do we have to take another test?" Jiraiya smirked as he leaned back against the bridge's railing and checked the sun's position in the sky. Almost 10. Perfect.

"It's a survival test," he replied, crossing his arms. He noticed Naruto's blank expression out of the corner of his eye, and frowned inwardly. Why wasn't the boy responding?

As if sensing Jiraiya's stare on him, Naruto looked up before standing, brushing the stray dirt from the seat of his pants. "It's a survival exam to make sure we're good enough on the field to be truly accepted as genin," Naruto elucidated. "Am I right?"

Jiraiya nodded, unfolding his arms and walking off the bridge, gesturing for the three not-quite-genin to follow him. "Minato is right," he affirmed. "Follow me to the training grounds."

**

* * *

**

Jiraiya set an alarm clock on one of the three training stumps in the centre of the field and wound it up. Then he peered at Kasumi, Katsuo and Naruto before reaching into his utility belt, extracting two small silver bells.

"The objective of this test is to take one of these bells from me," he told them, jangling them slightly with his hand. Naruto smirked inwardly. This, he had already done.

"But Jiraiya-sensei," Kasumi began, pointing at the bells. "There are only two bells!" Katsuo nodded with Kasumi, clearly confused. Jiraiya grinned wickedly.

"That's the catch," he replied, smiling ominously. "The person who doesn't get a bell goes back to the academy. Alternatively, none of you could get the bells at all. After all, I am a super cool jounin."

Then, he narrowed his eyes. "You will have to come at me with the intent to kill," he said. "Begin now."

Naruto had barely turned around when he discovered that his two teammates had already gone. He cursed as he headed into the cover of the nearby trees and shrubbery. He hadn't gotten a chance to tell Kasumi and Katsuo about the nature of the test.

**

* * *

**

'Jiraiya-sensei is one of the three Legendary Sannin,' Katsuo thought to himself. 'How on earth am I supposed to steal something from a legend like him?' He paused, taking his eyes off the Sannin for a minute and nestling himself into his hiding spot more securely. 'I wonder how Minato and Kasumi are doing,' he thought, bringing his eyes back up.

Jiraiya was gone.

Katsuo swore and jumped out of his bush, intent on finding the man when something caught his sleeve. Eyes widening, he instinctively wrenched himself out of his assailant's grip and threw a standard taijutsu punch.

"Hey, easy!" Naruto grouched, catching Katsuo's rather slow blow with little effort. Katsuo stared at him. "What are you doing?" he asked incredulously as Naruto headed towards where Kasumi was hiding.

"The aim of this test is to test teamwork," Naruto said as he pulled Katsuo along with him. "The two bells are just to distract us from the real objective."

A dizzying shockwave hit the two boys as they neared Kasumi. Naruto's eyes widened in shock. What the hell was that?!

**

* * *

**

'Is this heaven?' she thought, groggily trying to clear her vision. 'No. Too painful.' She brushed a stray strand of black hair that was slightly bleached from the sun behind her ear and tried to stand. 'Ugh, that explosion sure was a big one...damn tags.'

She groaned as she sat up, her backside sore and bruised from a hard landing. 'That guy...' Standing up proved a chore as her body every movement. Her limbs felt heavy, and she gripped the trunk of a nearby tree for support as she stood up painstakingly slowly. Bleary eyes blinked through the nearly midday sun as Kaori Kasumi concentrated slowly.

'A genjutsu,' she realised. 'I wouldn't have been that tired normally.' She placed her hands in a seal. "Kai!"

Her perception of the world suddenly grew sharper, and the oppressive weight on her limbs ceased to be. Startled by the new feeling, Kasumi stumbled and fell...only to be caught by Naruto and Katsuo. The latter slapped a hand over her mouth before she could make a sound.

Eyes focusing, Kasumi looked at the place she had last seen her perverted teacher. Gone, like she'd thought. 'Must have been when I was under the genjutsu,' Kasumi thought, and glared. What a bastard.

**

* * *

**

Jiraiya wasn't feeling particularly impressed. His three charges had barely done anything so far, an hour had nearly elapsed. Naruto and Katsuo hadn't approached him at all, preferring to stay hidden amongst the trees and natural vegetation. Jiraiya had decided to go after the kunoichi, and had stealthily skulked towards her.

Kasumi had noticed him at the last minute, just as he was about to make his move, and had struck back with quite some force, nearly hitting him in the face with a high kick and following up with a barely deflected kunai.

Jiraiya had been mildly impressed before becoming more alert and setting off a few exploding tags, momentarily stunning the girl. He had followed up with a mild but hard to detect genjutsu before leaving Kasumi, sure that it would be sufficient to knock her out.

Now, he stood on the open plain, contemplating the pros and cons of taking out his Icha Icha to read. It was rather peaceful, and it didn't look like any of the three would-be genin were about to make a move.

His hand moved to his equipment pouch, reaching for his book, when all of a sudden three shuriken whizzed out of the trees, one following at a slightly crooked angle to the other two. Jiraiya's hand left his pocket, reaching for his kunai holster instead. He ducked under the first shuriken, brought his kunai out, and deflected the two other shuriken harmlessly. He grinned, decided to keep his kunai out _just in case_, and headed into the thick foliage.

Jiraiya was on high alert as he stepped into the clearing, and he spotted the ninja wire suspended between two upright sticks on the forest floor immediately. Smirking confidently, he stepped over it, only to freeze in surprise at the strange feeling of something pressed against his shin giving way. Shock was written across his features as he tripped over the second wire.

'A second wire, hidden in the shadow of the first and coloured green to match the grass! Ingenious,' Jiraiya thought even as he pitched forwards. A dozen shuriken were released from various locations around the clearing. Jiraiya was impressed. It was a good trap...however, Jiraiya wouldn't be beaten so easily.

He prepared himself to deflect all of the shuriken, when a young voice rang out across the clearing.

"Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Jiraiya's eyes widened as twelve shuriken suddenly became a hundred. Just as the projectiles were about to hit, he took a chakra enhanced jump straight upwards – into the right hook of Naruto. The boy landed lightly on the branch of a tree while Jiraiya, still in free fall, twisted around and landed amongst the scattered shuriken safely.

"That was impressive," Jiraiya commented. "Who taught you that technique?" Naruto merely smiled before shimmering slightly and transforming into Katsuo.

'Henge!' Jiraiya realised, but had no time to think about it as a foot almost connected with his stomach. The real Naruto followed up with a short jab with his left hand, dancing amongst the fallen shuriken easily, while Jiraiya dodged with difficulty. How could Naruto navigate through the weapons so easily?

"Katon: Haisekishō!" the call came from behind him. Jiraiya's mind was spinning. Who on earth was stupid enough to teach a genin a B-ranked jutsu?!

The Naruto in front of him flickered out of view. 'A Bunshin!' Jiraiya realised, thinking back to the near misses. The shuriken at his feet also disappeared. 'Genjutsu!'

The huge cloud of ash was almost upon him. Jiraiya made the seals for a water jutsu, barely saving himself in time from getting third degree burns. He grimaced. The water he had used had come from the atmosphere, as well as underground moisture. The air was now rather dry. Additionally, the cloud of smoke left over from the ash technique the real Naruto had used was covering him, leaving him with zero visibility.

Jiraiya belatedly realised that he should have paid more attention at the start. A minor displacement of air made him jerk violently to the side on instinct as a kunai whisked by. He realised too late that this tactic had already been used as a flurry of punches and kicks connected solidly.

Jiraiya twisted around, flinging a blind kick at his opponent and jumped out of the smokescreen. Utilising his chakra, he jumped away from the scene as quickly as he could. As he reached the worn stumps at the centre of the training field, he was happy to note that the alarm had just gone off.

'Safe,' he thought in relief, almost collapsing at the base of the centre stump. The sound of footsteps made him crack an eye open.

"You look like crap," Tsunade remarked, pointing at his dirty and smudged clothes and face in no small amount of disgust. "What the hell did you just go through?"

"Genin test," Jiraiya groaned, too tired to even make a comment about her...assets. "Go away." Tsunade raised an eyebrow, but didn't argue. "Sensei wants you in his office after your test, by the way," she offered him as a parting shot, walking away. Jiraiya nearly whimpered.

"Hey, Jiraiya-sensei!" Naruto beamed, his arms draped around the shoulders of his two teammates. "How are you doing?"

"You fail," Jiraiya snapped at Naruto grumpily, looking forwards to a nice, long shower followed by a nice, long nap. "You didn't get the bells."

"Really?" Kasumi asked, raising an eyebrow in an annoyingly Tsunade-ish way. There was a slight jingle of bells and Jiraiya's eyes shot open, his hand reaching down to his belt. The bells were gone.

All three of them were holding a bell each. Jiraiya rubbed his eyes. "Wha...?" he asked, not comprehending. The bell Katsuo was holding flickered slightly. Jiraiya stood up slowly, passing a hand through the bell.

"A Genjutsu," he murmured, before pride slowly lit up his features. "Well done...you three have passed. Our cell will now be known as Team Jiraiya."

**

* * *

**

Being Team Jiraiya wasn't all as glamorous as it seemed, Katsuo mused as they weeded the fifth garden in as many days. It had been nearly a week since he, Naruto and Kasumi had been promoted to genin and had received Jiraiya as a jounin instructor, and so far, being a genin was quite a bore.

"Pass me the spade, will you?" he mumbled to Kasumi, wiping the sweat from his forehead with a hand. Kasumi handed him the gardening tool and he nodded in thanks. Naruto came over from where he was working and smiled at Katsuo's rather disgruntled expression.

"Don't worry about it," Naruto said soothingly, as Kasumi threw her gloves down in frustration and pulled her shoulder length black hair into a rough ponytail, doing it up with a piece of twine. "We'll be eligible for C-rank missions soon. D-rank missions are supposedly for team building. Once we've done enough of them, the Hokage will let us have a harder mission."

"I know, right?" Kasumi grumbled. "But in the meantime, we get these boring old jobs."

Jiraiya peered around the corner discretely, watching Naruto keenly. How did the boy know so much about ninja ranks and being a shinobi? Jiraiya resolved to ask Sarutobi what he knew. He slipped away quietly.

"Well, I happen to know of a way we can speed these jobs up faster," Naruto informed her. Katsuo and Kasumi's eyes lit up at the same time, causing Naruto to almost chuckle. He formed a cross with his two hands.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Naruto knew that he shouldn't put so much disregard for a forbidden technique, but he wanted to know his limits and hadn't tested his shadow clones for a while. Nearly twenty clones appeared in the garden, and Naruto smiled. It was about as good as he would get without exhausting his chakra completely. He gestured to the clones and they immediately got to work, weeding, planting and doing all the manner of gardening jobs. Kasumi and Katsuo sat back, amazed.

"How...?" Katsuo asked incredulously, gesticulating towards the clones. Naruto shrugged, sitting down and tilting his head towards the clones.

"I've got a rather large chakra reserve," he explained. Katsuo seemed to accept this for an answer and the three genin sat down, enjoying the rest of the mission while Naruto's clones toiled around the garden.

**

* * *

**

"Done already?" Jiraiya asked as his team met up again on the bridge. Kasumi grinned.

"Yeah, and it was all thanks to Minato's clo-" Naruto looked sharply at her, cutting her off, but the motion did not go unseen by the Sannin. "Minato's what?" he asked deceptively mildly. Naruto groaned inwardly.

"My shadow clones," he muttered. Jiraiya took a sudden intake of breath. "Your _what_?" he asked again. "Who taught you that?" Naruto knew there would be no getting out of this one, so he settled for a small lie.

"The old man taught me," he said defensively, knowing that Sarutobi would defend him in order to keep his secret. "Go ask him if you want." Jiraiya frowned at him.

"Oh, I will," he said silkily. "But you're coming with me as well. Kasumi, Katsuo. You're dismissed."

**

* * *

**

"Yes, of course I did," Sarutobi replied calmly, looking completely unperturbed. "Why do you ask?" Jiraiya glared fiercely at him. "We'll continue this in privacy," he almost snarled. "Minato, go outside."

Naruto scowled a little, but complied. He didn't know what the big fuss was about, anyway. It wasn't like Kage Bunshin was anything special.

He sat outside on one of the seats, waving a hello at the two chunin before once again focusing chakra to his ears. Naruto mused that it was becoming a rather common occurrence. 'Oh well,' he thought. 'Can't be helped.'

"...out of your mind, sensei?!" the voice was unmistakably Jiraiya's. "Why would you teach him a kinjutsu?"

"Minato has a large enough chakra capacity to handle more than a dozen shadow clones at any one given time," came the placid reply. "Additionally, he is sensible enough to know when not to use it."

"When _not_ to use it?!" There was no mistaking it. Jiraiya was furious. "He was openly flaunting it on a D-rank mission! A D-ranked mission!"

The Sandaime's voice had a stern tone to it when he spoke again.

"Calm down, Jiraiya," it was a demand, not a request. "Like I said before, Minato is smart enough to know when not to use it. If he believes he can handle it, then he can handle it."

The Hokage's tone brooked no argument, and the way he said it clearly meant a dismissal.

"Sensei," Jiraiya said gruffly, before throwing open the door. Naruto winced as his chakra enhanced ears picked up the noise extremely loudly. Just as he was about to stop the flow of chakra, Sarutobi's voice sounded again.

"I know you can hear me, _Minato_," he said. "And I hope you are indeed sensible enough to wield your powers responsibly."

Naruto cut off the chakra before nodding, even though he knew that the Sandaime couldn't see him. He followed the white haired Sannin down the stairs, who seemed to be in his normal mood already.

"Well, brat? Aren't you coming?" Jiraiya's impatient voice cut Naruto off from further thoughts. "I've got research to be doing, and you're wasting my time!"

**

* * *

**

**Author's Notes: **Hehe. I kind of got caught up writing the fight scene, which was rather nice to write. This chapter was pretty enjoyable to write in all, too. I hope you guys enjoyed my little 'mistaken identity' section with Kasumi =]. Reviews, suggestions, pointing out retarded mistakes and constructive criticism is welcome.

Oh, and in other news, I just watched Episode 125 of the anime today. So...melodramatic. That's just how you describe Madara's entrance to the scene.

-Dream Keys

Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu: Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique

Henge: Transformation

Katon: Haisekishō: Fire Release: Ash Pile Burning

Bunshin: Clone

Kage Bunshin no Jutsu: Shadow Clone Technique

Kinjutsu: Forbidden Technique


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Notes: **Here's the next chapter, guys. Thanks to all of my reviewers and please tell me what you think!

**

* * *

**

A fly buzzed lazily in the warm afternoon air, a small whining noise the only sign of its presence. It was an early spring – two and a half months after graduation, but as always Fire Country heated up quickly. This time of the year was a wonderful time to be in Konoha, with its _just right_ temperature.

Two and a half months had set a normal routine for the members of Team Jiraiya. With the help of the Kage Bunshin – after a stern talking-to by Jiraiya – the team finished two D-ranked missions easily in a day. So far, all of the other genin teams hadn't been as hard-working – one simple mission a day was enough for them.

It had been a typical day so far, Naruto mused. A mission in the morning had him, Kasumi and Katsuo at a crotchety old woman's house, with clones painting a fence while the three sat in the cool shade of a sakura tree. A brief lunch, and then they had trooped off to the Hokage Tower for another mission, this time to clear the garbage from one of Konoha's rivers.

It had been an easy mission, as all D-ranked missions tended to be. With bunshin busily scouring the water, Jiraiya off peeping somewhere all on his lonesome, and his two other teammates nearly dozing, Naruto was reasonably bored.

A few days after their first mission, Jiraiya had sarcastically told the team that D-rank missions were invented to build teamwork, in addition to helping the general populace of the village. Naruto had retorted that they were in fact building teamwork – why, they sat around and talked to each other for a whole day! Jiraiya had then aimed a flick at him, but Naruto skilfully dodged out of the way.

On weekends, Team Jiraiya's sensei held team training on training ground 25, an easily accessible genin ground. This was a change, but a rather welcome one to Naruto. Certainly, Kakashi had never done such a thing for Team 7. Naruto supposed it came from being a 'failure' himself. On such training sessions, Jiraiya helped his students with everything from politics to taijutsu forms – the latter of which Kasumi took to like a fish, much to Jiraiya's surprise...and later, horror.

Kasumi was currently dipping her feet in the water in an attempt to wake from the hazy half-conscious form she had previously been in. Her blue ninja sandals lay together nearly a metre away.

"That river's dirty, you know," Katsuo remarked, gesturing with a hand to the ten or so clones toiling slightly upriver. Kasumi stuck her tongue out at him, but retracted her legs nonetheless. Naruto found himself watching the female member of Team Jiraiya – not in a romantic sense, but because he was curious. Most of the kunoichi in his generation and younger had been obsessed with boys and so affected by the need to look pretty that they forgot what they were training to be – killers and masters of stealth, nothing more, nothing less. Of course, as they grew older, they matured, but Kasumi exhibited a down-to-earth mind, with shoulder length black hair done up in a practical bun and bangs carefully tucked behind her ears so as to not get in her eyes while she was in a situation. Truth be told, Kasumi reminded Naruto a bit of Tenten, the weapons mistress of Team Gai.

Naruto blinked as a clone upstream dispelled itself, updating him on the progress of the mission. A flow of information entered his brain.

"We're nearly done," he informed Katsuo and Kasumi. Standing up, he stretched a little and kicked Kasumi's sandals towards her. A few push-ups gave the Kage Bunshin the time needed to finish clearing the last of the trash away. One by one, the clones started to dispel themselves, until the last one erupted in a small plume of smoke.

Naruto watched the lengthening shadows of the tree for a moment before blinking out of his stupor. "Let's go to the Hokage Tower," he said, offering Katsuo a hand up. Kasumi was already standing, hands wiping the accumulated dirt from the seat of her pants. "Shouldn't we find Jiraiya-sensei first?" she inquired jerking her head in the direction of the hot springs. A dark and murderous look crossed her face, but it was quickly wiped away.

"Nah," Katsuo replied, also looking at the length of the trees' shadows. "It's getting late, and I for one don't want to be mistaken for a pervert like sensei by the women at the springs. Let's just go to the Hokage Tower."

The three simultaneously sprang away, chakra powered leaps clearing them from roof to roof.

**

* * *

**

"Well done, you three," Sarutobi smiled pleasantly at the genin assembled before him. "You are quite far ahead of the other genin your age. Not many can boast two missions in a day."

Naruto grumbled quietly to himself. If only he had thought about making clones to complete D-rank missions when he was in Team 7. The pay was that much higher.

"Hokage-sama, is it possible for us to get a C-rank mission sometime?" Kasumi asked, taking a half step forwards. Sarutobi's eyebrows shot up in surprise, but he looked thoughtful. "Perhaps, perhaps," he replied, smiling at the girl. "You would have to ask your sensei for permission though."

'A C-rank? It couldn't hurt,' Naruto thought. The three turned to leave.

Once outside, Naruto turned to his teammates. "Ramen?" he asked, and grinned as both Katsuo and Kasumi acceded.

Yes, things were definitely looking up for his new team.

**

* * *

**

"Today, I have something special for you three," Jiraiya said as he led his genin to a large clearing with huge trees that reached for the sky encircling it. He was in an uncharacteristically focused mood as he watched the three of them. Naruto already had a good idea of what Jiraiya had in mind, but he still paid attention as the Sannin talked to them.

"What is it?" Kasumi asked, looking at her surroundings with a doubtful eye. Was this just another joke? Jiraiya gestured towards the trees behind him.

"You're going to learn a very important ninja skill today," he replied. "Climbing trees." Kasumi and Katsuo looked at him incredulously while Naruto grinned. He knew it!

"I knew it!" Kasumi burst out, pointing an accusing finger at the white haired man. "You were playing a joke on us!" The black haired girl's scowl melted away when she saw Jiraiya shaking his head.

"He means climbing trees without hands," Naruto said suddenly, startling Kasumi. "Using only chakra to stick to the tree, one can literally walk up a tree, or any vertical object. Isn't that right, Ero-sennin?"

Jiraiya scowled at the name, but nodded nonetheless. 'How did he know?' he asked himself. Next to Naruto, Katsuo and Kasumi were looking at him slack-jawed. Naruto coloured slightly in embarrassment, but pressed on. "Furthermore, if a person puts too much chakra into their feet, they will launch off the tree. However, if a person uses too little chakra they won't stick, so they'll fall. Chakra control exercises like tree climbing is also good for increasing your chakra reserve."

Jiraiya nodded at Naruto's explanation. "Minato has described the tree climbing exercise perfectly," he told Naruto's other teammates. "I'll give you a demonstration, and then you three can get to it. Try and use a running start, it will help you get up the tree faster. Use a kunai to mark your progress."

With that, Jiraiya turned around and marched towards a tree. An ethereal blue glow of chakra briefly lit his feet as he made a ram seal. As he reached the tree, he lifted his leg and continued up the trunk as if he was still walking along flat ground. When he reached about halfway of the tree, the Sannin turned around and gestured towards the genin.

"Well?" he demanded. "Get going!"

Naruto picked the tree next to the one Jiraiya had climbed and ran for it, concentrating chakra as he went. His hand flew to his kunai holster and he twirled it by the hole at the end before catching it and running up the tree.

Momentum propelled Naruto for a few metres until he started to slow. From there on, he continued to walk up the trunk. The top of the tree was slimmer, and Naruto wobbled a bit as a particularly strong gust of wind blew by, and then straightened, turned around and walked down a few paces, settling on a branch about three quarters of the height of the tree. He etched a mark in the tree trunk next to him.

Jiraiya was looking at him in shock from his spot on his tree. 'He's a genius,' he thought to himself in wonder. 'Even Orochimaru couldn't do that at his age.'

Out of the three of them, it seemed that Kasumi had the least chakra control, which was rather surprising news to Naruto. However, it also probably meant that she had larger than average chakra reserves. Katsuo's control was actually very good – he had managed nearly a half of the tree before he fell back down.

Kasumi ran about a quarter before her chakra control left her – her foot made a large mark in the tree and the bark made an audible crunching noise as it snapped underneath the pressure of the kunoichi's chakra. She scowled as she flipped off the trunk of another tree in order to reach the ground safely.

Naruto flung himself off his tree, stopping to cling onto another one on his descent to the ground, and landed lithely onto the forest floor, his chakra cushioning his fall. Nearby, Katsuo was attempting another run, while Kasumi was looking frustrated, glaring at her tree. Naruto walked over to her as she was about to charge the tree again.

"Kasumi, you should calm down," he said quietly, amusedly recalling his own failures at climbing trees. "Part of the trick to chakra control is that you have to be calm while you're trying to do it. If you're not, you'll channel the chakra wrong and you'll never be able to get the exercise down."

Kasumi smiled gratefully at him. "Thanks, Minato," she said, before breathing out and running to the tree noticeably less frantically.

**

* * *

**

Over the next week, Team Jiraiya still completed their routine two missions a day, but with noticeably more enthusiasm. Most days, instead of lying around while Naruto's clones did all the hard work, the three genin would practice chakra control in the form of climbing trees, with the exception of Naruto. Jiraiya, having seen that Naruto already knew the tree climbing exercise, took him to the hot springs and explained to him water walking.

Unfortunately for the white haired pervert, Naruto already knew how to do it, leaving Jiraiya stumped for a change.

As the week neared completion, everyone in the team saw noticeable results. Katsuo could almost climb the whole tree now, Kasumi lagging behind him just a little. Jutsu were sharper, more powerful, more concentrated, and most importantly, using less chakra to utilise. On a weekday during one of his brief visits to the team during a mission, Jiraiya taught Katsuo a D-rank genjutsu, Kasumi a D-rank Doton ninjutsu and Naruto the Shunshin technique, saying that they all needed a jutsu to help them become even better ninja than before.

Naruto had retorted that it wasn't a jutsu that made a ninja, but the way the ninja used the jutsu, earning a strange look from the Toad Sage. Then Katsuo had told him to 'cut the wise crap', earning a rather undignified snort from Naruto which sent all three of them laughing.

"Jiraiya-sensei, can we get a C-rank mission?" Kasumi asked as they walked through the doors to the Hokage Tower to send in their latest mission report.

"A C-rank?" he asked, seemingly surprised. "Don't you want to train some more before you try one of those?"

"We've already been training for nearly three months," Katsuo replied, joining Kasumi's side. He looked at Naruto inquisitively, and he shrugged before replying, "Sounds fine with me."

Jiraiya looked thoughtful for a second before greeting the chunin at the door with a simple movement. "I'll see what I can do," he told them as they walked in.

"Ah, hello there," Sarutobi smiled benevolently at Team Jiraiya as he pushed away a stack of papers at his desk. "Here to hand in your mission report?"

Naruto dryly recounted the fascinating story of weeding yet another garden before brightening and looking at Jiraiya, the look clear on his face. _C-rank? Now!_

Jiraiya cleared his throat and looked at the Hokage. "My team wants to have a C-rank mission," he said bluntly. Inwardly, Naruto sighed. Jiraiya had never been one for tact.

'Wait a moment. Tact? I'm one to talk...' Naruto contemplated, but disregarded it as a random thought. Sarutobi raised his eyebrows. "A C-ranked mission so soon?" he asked, removing his pipe from his mouth and breathing out. A small wisp of smoke curled out of the side of his mouth, disappearing as it blew upwards. Jiraiya looked at his genin with an 'I told you so' look on his face.

"Well, we've been training a lot," Katsuo said testily. "We wanted something more than those boring D-ranked missions." At this, Kasumi nodded emphatically in agreement. Sarutobi sighed.

"I suppose I could humour you," he murmured, bringing out a paper marked with a large 'C'. "Let's see...ah, yes. Here we are. A trade caravan was en route to Konoha from a village situated to the north of Konoha when it was ambushed by what seems to be a band of thugs. One woman was able to escape and managed to reach Konoha, and she would like our help in eliminating these bandits.

"Is it possible that the woman's companions are...dead?" Jiraiya asked cautiously, not sure how he should receive this mission. It seemed like a lot of things could go wrong...what was Sarutobi thinking, to give his team such a mission?

The Hokage nodded slowly. "It is possible," he replied. "However, the young woman, who is our client, said the bandits that captured her companions – family, she called them – wanted their merchandise as well as...well, their bodies."

Jiraiya's eyes flashed. "Sarutobi-sensei..." he said through gritted teeth. "This mission would be more likely to be suited to a team of chunin or jounin, not freshly minted genin."

"We want to take this mission," Katsuo insisted. "Come on, Jiraiya-sensei!"

Jiraiya folded, although he was still glowering. "Very well. Who is our client?"

Sarutobi didn't answer him directly, but instead called out past the door. "Yuri-san, please come in!" A woman – barely past her teenage years – walked in through the door, slim hands frantically combing through wavy blonde hair in a nervous habit every few seconds.

"Oh, are you the team that's going to bring my Hikari and Kenshin back?" Yuri asked. She had a high pitched voice distraught from the anxiety of losing close friends.

"We are, Yuri-san," Jiraiya said, looking at Naruto, Katsuo and Kasumi sharply. The meaning was clear – don't interrupt, let me handle this.

"Oh thank you thank you thank you!" Yuri cried, flinging her arms around Jiraiya's waist. For once, Naruto didn't make a snarky comment, moved by Yuri's pain.

After she left, Jiraiya turned to his team. "Go home and pack. Half an hour, at Konoha's northern gate. Be sharp."

**

* * *

**

It was late in the evening when Team Jiraiya assembled at the northern gate. Naruto found it impractical, but he made no comment. Perhaps it was for the best – after all, they were trying to save the civilians while neutralising the enemies. Time _was_ of the essence.

No words were necessary for the team as they jumped from tree to tree. None were needed.

Jiraiya had a rough idea of where the bandits were located, but they would have to conduct a large sweep of the area in order to find the culprits. It was definitely no easy task. For the occasion, the white haired Sannin had brought along earphone sets, giving one to each member of the team.

**

* * *

**

They made their camp a few hours after they set out and had dinner. It had just gotten too dark to see anything, and it was rather late additionally. Naruto set out quietly to arm the traps surrounding their camp while Kasumi cooked the dinner – hunted rabbit with herbs she had brought especially for the occasion.

"We'll reach the rough location at about midday tomorrow," Jiraiya said after he finished his share of the meal. "The maximum time it should take for us to locate the camp is roughly an hour and a half. With the bonus of chakra, less than that, even."

"How will we know where to regroup?" Katsuo asked, tearing a chunk of meat out – oblivious to the disgusted stare he was receiving from Kasumi – and chewing. Jiraiya gave him a sideways glance, and Naruto immediately understood it, even if the other boy didn't.

"We won't regroup," Jiraiya said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Kasumi stared at him. "Why not?" she asked. The thought of working alone did not sound appealing.

"Because it will be too hard," Naruto answered instead of Jiraiya. "We don't know the layout of the area properly. This mission is complicated, more so than a normal C-rank would be. Most C-ranked missions are straightforward, but this one is different. There are almost no details at all to help."

Jiraiya nodded. "Exactly," he said. "We'll have to take this slowly and carefully, but at the same time, make sure we're quick enough that we can get the civilians out of there before anyone gets hurt. Then, we'll have to either be stealthy enough to sneak out without causing any trouble, or take down all of the thugs."

"Why wouldn't we take care of those guys?" Katsuo asked, not understanding. This time, Kasumi answered. "Because of the civs," she breathed, realisation dawning on her. "If we end up fighting, then the civilians will be in danger. It's hard to sneak out with civilians because they're not trained in stealth. And it's not stated in the mission parameters that we have to take down all of those bandits."

"Kasumi's right," Jiraiya said with a scowl on his features. "All in all, this is one high risk mission. I can't see why Sarutobi-sensei would give it to a bunch of rookie genin and me."

Then he sighed, and unrolled his pallet. "Get a good night's sleep, everyone," he ordered. "We're going to be up early in the morning tomorrow tracking these bandits."

**

* * *

**

**Author's Notes: **For some reason I wasn't wholly satisfied with this chapter...but let me know what you think! Thoughts, constructive criticism, corrections and suggestions are always welcome.

-Dream Keys

Shunshin: Body Flicker


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Notes: **Yeah, hopefully this chapter's up to par. Thanks to all my lovely reviewers, you guys are really helpful!

So, quite a few of you have asked something along the lines of 'where the heck's Kushina?' or 'when's Kushina going to come in?'. Kushina will arrive in Konoha at her own time, so be patient!

Hmm...Kishimoto really didn't give us a proper example of a C-rank mission, did he? Oh well, I just had to make do with what I had. Enjoy!

Anyway, onto the story.

**

* * *

**

Whatever melancholy that seemed to have taken over Jiraiya throughout the previous day seemed to have dissipated in the morning. Team Jiraiya's white haired sensei was back to his cheerful – not to mention slightly annoying – demeanour as they had a quick breakfast before speeding away towards the bandit camp's supposed location.

"And then I saw her – beautiful and all, just waiting-" Jiraiya's in depth description was just starting to grate on Kasumi's already tense nerves.

"SHUT UP!" she shouted, although her voice was moderated slightly so as not to give away their location to any eavesdroppers. Jiraiya paused mid-sentence, and gave Naruto and Katsuo – who were looking on with a little exasperation – a sly wink before turning back to Kasumi, a hurt expression on his face.

"Don't you appreciate my glorious descriptions, attention to detail and undeniable appeal to ladies?" he asked, sounding injured. Kasumi didn't buy it for a minute, twisting and leaping off a tree branch as she snorted. "You're undeniably mentally retarded," she answered back. Jiraiya wiped an imaginary tear away as Naruto and Katsuo chortled away.

The company travelled in much of the same way for a few hours until Jiraiya pulled out his map and checked their location. "We're close," he said softly, putting the map back in his equipment pouch. The team's happy disposition turned serious as Jiraiya pulled out wireless radios and distributed them.

"Kasumi, go north. Minato, south, Katsuo west and I'll go east. See what you can find and keep an eye out for anything strange."

The three genin nodded and were about to leap away when Jiraiya stopped them. "Oh, and don't get yourselves killed please," he said, smiling at them brightly.

**

* * *

**

"I've found them," Katsuo's voice crackled over the team's various headsets. "I can see campfire smoke from here."

He shifted slightly in his position on a tree and peered out through the foliage. There was a slight cracking noise as he shifted, but Katsuo disregarded it. A few indistinct voices wafted up to him and he strained his ears to hear before Jiraiya's voice cut through his concentration. "Stay where you are," he commanded. "All of us are going to come over and form a perimeter around the camp. Where are you?"

Katsuo reported his coordinates, his voice clearly projecting his location to Jiraiya, Naruto and Kasumi. "Hang on, sensei," he said after revealing his location. "Where are you going to-" Katsuo was cut off as he heard the loud snap of a twig from below him and a curse of a man. His companion looked at him curiously for a second before gazing at the trees above him.

Cursing in his mind, Katsuo pressed himself against the trunk of his tree, hoping that he hadn't been seen and that the greenery around him would cover his position.

"Did ya hear somethin'?" the second man asked his buddy, who had tripped over a small broken tree branch on the floor. The first man swore again before glancing at the trees as well. "Nah," he replied, cracking his knuckles. "Reckon it's just a bird or somethin'."

His partner nodded in acceptance and they were about to turn when the branch Katsuo was balanced on made a sharp 'crack' and shivered ominously. Katsuo froze and looked down. A hairline crack in the tree was visible and slowly expanding.

The two thugs had stopped and turned around again and Katsuo felt a chill shiver down his spine as the branch groaned again.

"There's someone 'ere," the second man muttered, while the first one rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Well, no shit," he replied, staring at the tree. He drew a serrated knife and grinned. "Come on out!" he called, cracking his knuckles again.

**

* * *

**

Naruto could spot the caravan filled with merchandise from where he was crouched amongst the thick green shrubbery. The two innocents, Hikari and Kenshin, were nowhere to be seen. He felt a stab of fear as Katsuo's voice was cut off suddenly.

"Katsuo? Katsuo!" he spoke into his headset worriedly. "Ero-sennin! What's happening?"

"I don't know, Minato," Jiraiya replied in his ear. There was a slight rustling sound as Naruto's earpiece picked up noises from Katsuo's end.

**

* * *

**

Kasumi was running a little behind schedule as she raced amongst the trees to her assigned coordinates. There was a small noise behind her, and Kasumi's heart skipped a beat before she sighed in relief as Jiraiya appeared beside her.

"What happened to Katsuo?" she asked, concern evident in her features. "Is he alright?" Jiraiya shrugged and handed her a small leather bag. "I don't know," he replied. "I sent a shadow clone to check on him, so I'll get the info soon."

Kasumi chose a spot on the leafy ground and jumped off a branch, concentrating chakra to her legs at the last moment so she could land safely. She held the bag up to her eye. "What's in here?" she asked curiously, undoing the drawstring. Jiraiya grabbed her hand before she could do anything else.

"I would advise you not to take a whiff of that thing," he told her, shaking some of the contents of the leather bag onto the palm of his hand. It contained finely ground white powder. The Sannin grinned. "This here," Jiraiya said, gesturing towards the powder with his free hand, "Is a powerful knock-out agent that will put our dear bandit friends to sleep in a matter of minutes."

Kasumi stared at him. "And what are we using this for?"

Jiraiya sighed dramatically. "How could you be so dense?" he wailed, waving his arms around wildly and nearly emptying the entire bag. Kasumi carefully turned her teacher's hand around again, tipping the sleeping drug back into the drawstring bag.

"You have the most important job out of us all," Jiraiya said seriously as soon as the last particle disappeared into the sack. "Katsuo is disabling the perimeter guards, Minato is finding the two hostages, Kenshin and Hikari, I'm going to help him out by taking out any alerted bandits, but you are going to do the most important job. You're going to sneak into the camp and distribute some of this to their entire food source and water. Don't worry about if they hunt for food, I've already checked and they already have their lunch ready. When Minato and I get Kenshin and Hikari, we'll be counting on you to have knocked out most of the bandits so no one tracks us while we're attempting a getaway. This way, it's much safer."

Kasumi considered this for a few seconds. "How much do I use?"

Jiraiya beamed at her. "Finally, she asks a smart question!" he exclaimed. Kasumi scowled and punched his arm. "Well?" she asked.

"Just a pinch will do," Jiraiya replied, before glancing up at the sky. "Anyway, I've got to go and find Minato. See you!"

The white haired pervert winked at her before poofing away in a cloud of smoke. Kasumi looked surprised. 'So that was a clone as well,' she thought, before creeping a little closer, slipping the bag full of sleeping powder into her equipment pouch. She surveyed the encampment and made a few calculations.

Kasumi's hands briefly flicked into seals. 'Let's see if this works,' she thought before whispering, "Doton: Shinjū Zanshu no Jutsu."

Kasumi sank into the ground, smiling as she used the jutsu in a completely different way. Once underneath the ground, she dug a small tunnel forwards until she was sure she was in the middle of the camp.

She emerged from the ground silently and ducked behind a nearby tent as a few men went past, and thought back to her early academy days.

"Henge no Jutsu!" she whispered, transforming into the visage of a nondescript looking bandit wearing drab greys and browns. _If you're going to sneak around, do so in plain daylight. Enemies rarely suspect an attack from the inside._

Mustering up her courage, Kasumi stepped from behind the tent and walked as confidently as she could around the entire camp, spotting the painted caravan almost immediately. Kasumi was tempted to approach it, but stopped herself forcefully. Minato and Jiraiya would be taking care of that. Meanwhile, she had to get to the 'kitchen' of the camp.

Kasumi spotted a thin column of smoke wafting from behind another tent to her left and started walking towards it. Next to the tent was a small creek, a viable water source for any person who could think. The wafting smoke probably signified where the cook would be stewing the entire camp's food.

The cook had her back turned to her as Kasumi approached, and the black haired kunoichi felt an ounce of pity for the poor woman before she quickly knocked her out with the metal ring on a kunai. The cooking woman fell without a sound, being caught by Kasumi before she hit the ground. Kasumi quickly dragged her body to the edge of the stream and hesitated.

By throwing the body, Kasumi would be getting rid of any evidence. However, was it worth it? She looked around. There were no convenient bushes or shrubs nearby that she could hide the cook's body in. Kasumi made up her mind.

Great reluctance dogged her movements as Kasumi pushed the body towards the river. Even with her mind made up, Kasumi found it hard to just rid the world of a human life just like that. _Just like that._

The sound of steadily approaching voices broke Kasumi out of her reverie. With one final look, she pushed the body into the river. There was a small 'splash', and she was gone. Kasumi dragged in a deep breath and released her transformation, before redoing it, this time turning into the appearance of the cook she had just murdered.

"Oi, Kaede," an olive skinned man called in Kasumi's direction. She turned her head towards him.

"When's there gonna be lunch?" he growled, crossing his arms. "Me and the others are all getting hungry here!"

Kasumi tried not to swallow and plastered a nonchalant expression onto her face. "Have some patience," she replied, turning back to the pig on the roast. The man sneered at 'Kaede' once before stomping away, muttering angrily to himself.

Looking left and right, Kasumi quickly reached into her pouch and brought out the bag of powder, quickly sprinkling some onto the pig and in the boiling water. Sighing, she stepped back as she finished, glancing around her again. She tapped her microphone piece.

"Jiraiya-sensei? What do I do now?"

**

* * *

**

The branch completely snapped under his weight, but Katsuo was already prepared for that. He quickly latched onto the trunk of the tree with his chakra, watching the useless log tumble towards the ground. It landed with a loud thump. There was a small silence, and then the second man spoke.

"Tha's one heckova heavy bird," he mumbled to his partner, who snarled and threw his knife towards the tree. Katsuo's eyes widened and he jumped scant moments before the knife embedded itself where he had previously been clinging onto.

The air whistled past him as Katsuo hung in midair. Then gravity caught up to him and he fell, using chakra to cushion his landing. In front of him, the two men had sprung into action, drawing an assortment of wicked looking weapons.

"Die!" the first bandit shouted, charging at him. There was no time to think. Katsuo dodged on instinct, tripped him over and drew a kunai, plunging it into the base of the man's neck expertly as he toppled forwards. There was a vicious arterial spray from the bandit's external jugular vein as Katsuo slashed his throat.

Whirling around, Katsuo pulled out his kunai in one move, flicking his hand and sending the already bloodied blade to the other man. It lodged itself in between his ribs, piercing his heart. The man choked out blood before he keeled over, dead.

Katsuo looked at his red hands numbly as he walked over to the dead man and extracted his knife, flinching at the horrible squelching noise it made as it came out.

'I guess those medical books on vital points in the body helped,' he thought, wiping the kunai clean on the bandit's clothes.

Standing up, Katsuo grimaced at the blood all over the place, hiding the two bodies as best as he could.

"Katsuo." The voice belonged to Jiraiya. "What happened here? Are you alright?"

Katsuo looked blankly up at his sensei, the reality of his first two kills finally hitting him.

"Yeah...I'm fine. I'm..." he paused staring at the spot where the two bodies were hidden. "I'm okay."

**

* * *

**

"They're all having lunch now," Naruto noted as he reached the caravan. Beside him, Jiraiya nodded. "Kasumi's on her way," he informed Naruto as he flung open the doors. "And hopefully, all of them will be rather drowsy in a matter of moments."

"Who-who are you?" a voice croaked from the inside of the caravan. A grimy, dirt smudged face peered out at Jiraiya and Naruto.

"Relax," Naruto told him, his voice taking on the professional tone he had used as a jounin. "We're shinobi from the Leaf. We've come to rescue you and Hikari."

Kenshin shivered and Naruto took the time to look inside the small, darkened caravan that was barely more than an enclosed cart. The young man was tied to the caravan itself, a piece of rope tight around his legs and fastened to a sharp metal stake, which in turn had been driven into the wood of the cart.

"Hikari's around the back," Kenshin muttered, pulling agitatedly at his rope. "She's been tied to a tree. At least...at least those bastards haven't touched her yet. Can we get out of here soon?"

Jiraiya took a kunai out and motioned for Naruto to find the woman. "Yes we can, Kenshin. As soon as we meet up with the rest of our teammates, we can leave."

**

* * *

**

"Kaede, where're you going?" an obviously drunk man slurred, gesturing in her direction. Kasumi wrinkled her nose, both at the smell of alcohol on his breath and the obvious insinuation in his voice. She was glad to see that the other women in the camp were equally disgusted.

"None of your business," she snapped back at him, marching off. There were a few titters from the other people and the drunken man flushed an angry red, but made no move to stop Kasumi. Once away from the rest of the rabble, she sighed in relief and looked back. Hopefully the sleeping powder would be kicking in soon, and all of the bandits would be fast asleep, unaware of their prisoners escaping.

She spotted Jiraiya and Naruto at the caravan she had seen earlier, and moved towards it, glad to see a familiar face. "Hey guys," she said as she reached the two males. "Have we found them?"

Jiraiya nodded distractedly as he cut away the rope binding Kenshin to the stake. "Yeah, and Minato's round the back freeing Hikari-chan," he replied, putting away his kunai. Wobbling, Kenshin emerged from his makeshift prison, his eyes closing as the glare of the early afternoon sun hit him. Even so, he managed a narrow eyed glare at Jiraiya.

"Hikari-_chan_?" he asked Jiraiya dangerously. Thankfully, the jounin was saved from answering by a slightly scratchy female voice.

"Kenshin, is that you?" Hikari asked, emerging from behind the caravan, Naruto trailing behind her. Kenshin turned around and grinned at her, before enveloping her in a hug. "Hikari! I'm so glad you're safe," he exclaimed.

Kasumi turned towards Jiraiya. "Where's Katsuo-kun?" she asked, noticing his absence amongst the team.

"Katsuo will be on his way," Jiraiya replied, at the same time meekly shying away from Kenshin, who was once again looking at him with murderous intent.

Naruto slipped his kunai away. "Did something happen to Katsuo?" he asked as he adjusted his kunai holster. Jiraiya closed the door to the caravan.

"He killed two people with a kunai," he replied casually. Naruto's eyes narrowed in understanding as Kasumi took a sharp breath inwards. "I...I killed a woman as well," she whispered, remembering the creek. Naruto moved over to her, laying a comforting hand on her shoulder. Meanwhile, Hikari seemed to have realised who she was standing with.

"You're...you're kids!" she exclaimed in realisation. Naruto cocked an eyebrow as if to say, 'you just realised?' and Jiraiya looked at her, an unusually serious look on his face.

"No, they are ninja," he answered. "Now, I left a shadow clone with Katsuo, and he'll meet us on the path back to Konoha." Then he looked at Kenshin and Hikari.

"I'm afraid you two will have to leave your caravan behind," Jiraiya said, looking at them both to make sure they understood. "It would be far too slow to take it with us, and the bandits would notice its disappearance from the moment they woke up."

The two looked at each other for a minute, and then nodded in understanding. "I know," they replied in unison. Jiraiya looked at the small group assembled before him and smiled. 'Now that wasn't too hard,' he thought to himself. "Let's get going, then!" he called, striking a pose and flashing a dazzling smile towards Kenshin and Hikari.

Kenshin took a moment to sweat-drop, but he followed nonetheless.

**

* * *

**

The return trip had been uneventful, if long. The slow pace of Hikari and Kenshin made sure that the group was delayed by a whole half day. By the time they reached the Konoha north gate, it was late afternoon. They had immediately gone to the Hokage Tower, where Hikari and Kenshin were greeted by an ecstatic Yuri.

The Third Hokage congratulated the team on completing the mission, and gave Katsuo, Naruto and Kasumi their mission pay before dismissing them. Jiraiya stayed behind.

"How did they do?" Sarutobi asked intently, lacing his fingers together. Jiraiya affixed him with a strange look.

"Katsuo completed two kills – a kunai to the neck to one man and a thrown kunai to the other to the heart. Kasumi had one. She first knocked out the woman, and then tossed her into the river. All of these kills weren't terribly efficient in terms of skill, but at least they got it done."

"And Minato?" Sarutobi asked intently, leaning forwards. Jiraiya scowled at his former teacher. "Sarutobi-sensei, I thought you weren't going to play favourites anymore," he reprimanded. Sarutobi had the decency to look slightly abashed.

"My apologies, Jiraiya-kun," he replied. "But I am rather curious as to know how he did on the mission."

"Truthfully, I put him in a position where it was unlikely that he would have to disable anyone," Jiraiya admitted. "But that was because I wanted to see how Kasumi and Katsuo would do under stress. Minato is...he has the calmest disposition I've ever seem amongst genin, sensei. I have no doubts that he would have been able to commit a kill with little effort."

"And Katsuo and Kasumi? Did they show any signs of distress after the mission?"

Jiraiya shook his head. "I believe they were trying to keep up the facade of being completely in control in front of Kenshin and Hikari," he answered. "I haven't gotten a chance to see if either of them has truly been affected by their kills, but I'll know soon enough."

"That is satisfactory," The Hokage said, a smile tugging on his lips. "You have a fine genin team, Jiraiya. Would you consider entering them into the Chunin Selection Exam?"

Jiraiya considered it. "They're rookies, Sarutobi-sensei," he replied. "Although no doubt about it, they are skilled. There are still a few months left before the exams. I can probably teach them quite a bit more in that time. Are the exams being hosted in Konoha this time?"

Sarutobi nodded, smiling. "They are," he affirmed. "Now would be a good time to enter Team Jiraiya, I think. Not only is it safer here, but we can indeed keep an eye out for any possible...events in the future."

"I understand, sensei," Jiraiya said, hearing the cautious undertones in his teacher's voice. Then he beamed. "But you have to admit, my genin are kick-ass!"

**

* * *

**

**Author's Notes: **Well okay, the beginning of this took a while to actually write out. I think I had a mild case of writer's block here! Anyway, about the random powder? That's all made up crap. There are just some things that you just don't research. And I appear to be quoting Jamie Oliver here...

Yes I know I'm twisting around the Headhunter thing a bit here, but hey ninja are ninja, and they're supposed to be able to use dirty tricks, right?

Reviews, constructive criticism, corrections and suggestions are as usual, welcome.

-Dream Keys

Doton: Shinjū Zanshu no Jutsu: Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu

Henge no Jutsu: Transformation Technique


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Notes:** Hey again! It's time for another chapter! Thank you to my wonderful reviewers, your reviews never fail to brighten my day!

So, I banged my right funny bone on the ground a while ago, and the last thousand odd words or so were written with a burning-yet-numb sensation in my right hand. Curse my brother and his antics. Ouch.

To all you people still worrying when Kushina's going to come in and kick some major ass, don't worry! She'll appear someday...ahem...soon! Actually in my estimation a few more chapters...eh, I don't know quite yet. I guess it depends on how much I write for the chunin exams =].

Okay, I'll stop my rambling here and give you the next chapter already.

* * *

Water walking was difficult to learn at first, but once you got the hang of it, it became just a matter of concentration. After you had experience with it, it became second nature. To Kasumi, water walking had been every bit as hard as tree climbing had been, and then some more. Reaching the top of the tree had been a major success for the young shinobi, and she had been ecstatic before Jiraiya had told her about a new chakra control exercise.

After Kasumi had mastered water walking, Jiraiya had set her team a few new exercises, including running large distances on water in order to build up strength as well as control. Then after that, he had moved onto a few more ninjutsu.

Although Kasumi had less than average chakra control for a genin, she showed remarkable aptitude for genjutsu despite this, although not as much as Katsuo.

But that wasn't it. To Jiraiya, it seemed that Kasumi and Naruto had an equal amount of talent for illusion weaving, but focused more on ninjutsu and taijutsu. Kasumi focused more on formal taijutsu, not having the chakra capacity to keep spitting out jutsu, while Naruto preferred ninjutsu with a bizarre mix of tactics to win a fight. Katsuo on the other hand, was more precision based. Jiraiya was not particularly surprised at this. After all, the boy's father was a medic-nin with amazing control. According to Katsuo, Tetsuya was teaching him the basics of medical jutsu at home. With this control and finesse in style, Katsuo easily excelled at precise genjutsu and devoured any knowledge of them sent his way.

With that in mind, Jiraiya found a set of senbon for the russet haired boy and presented them to him at the team's next training session. Katsuo had been extremely pleased by the gift and had smirked at Jiraiya when he moaned about the cost. A few weeks later, Katsuo had shown up at a team practice and had shown off his new mastery of senbon needles. Jiraiya had retorted that he only knew how to throw them, which wasn't a major accomplishment. Naruto had then pointed out to Katsuo that a senbon needle wouldn't do much to a person if it was embedded in their arm. However, a carefully placed senbon to a vital point could be enough to kill a ninja. It was with extreme excitement that Katsuo had gone home to pressure his father about senbon again.

It was now a full month after Team Jiraiya's first C-rank mission. Naruto and Katsuo were seated in the shade of a large tree after another in-village mission while Kasumi was busy skipping stones along a still pond. Naruto was randomly wondering how Konoha managed to pay for all of the expenses when Jiraiya appeared before the three in a swirl of leaves. Naruto smiled. Before, as a chunin and then a jounin, he had never actually learnt Shunshin from anyone. Here, he had learnt it as a genin. Naruto wondered how far the strength of the Konoha ninja had slipped to his time.

"Howdy, team!" Jiraiya called, a simple two fingered salute to his forehead his greeting. Kasumi paused while lifting a small pebble and glared in the direction of a new looking orange covered book. Jiraiya gulped. "Oh...ehehe...this is nothing." He quickly slipped the book into a pocket.

"Anyway, the chunin exams are coming up in a month's time," Jiraiya said, remembering the reason he was with his students. "I'll be upping the ante of your training to three team training sessions a week and at the end of the month if you've proven that you can handle the exams, I'll let you participate."

Katsuo sat up, looking surprised. "But sensei, we're just rookies. How could we hope to participate in the exam and come out of it alive?" Jiraiya nodded in approval. "That's what I hoped you would ask. It's true that you are inexperienced genin, but you make up for it with your teamwork and skill."

At this, Kasumi grinned. Jiraiya mock glared at her. "But then again, no one could hope to stand up to your team anyway! Everyone would fall for Kasumi-chan's natural charm."

Kasumi screwed up her face in revulsion. "That's disgusting, Ero-sennin!" she screamed at Jiraiya, and proceeded to beat the daylights out of him. Too busy watching in horrified fascination, Naruto didn't know whether to laugh that Kasumi had taken his phrase and used it to insult Jiraiya, or be properly scared of the weight behind the slim looking kunoichi's flying fists. In the end, he settled for chortling happily along with Katsuo, making no effort to help his teacher. Jiraiya deserved it, anyway.

The pervert's screams echoed across Konoha.

**

* * *

**

"The chunin exams are in a month."

"I know that. They are being held in Konohagakure no Sato, are they not?"

"They are. I would like to enter your genin team into it. I'm sure you would do well." The white and blue clad man clasped his hands behind his back. "But it is up to you and your teammates to decide that."

"I am sure it would be an honour, Kazekage-sama. I will consult my teammates for their opinions of this matter." The dark red haired boy with what looked like kohl rimmed eyes turned to leave.

"Wait."

The fourteen year old turned back around and cocked an eyebrow inquisitively. "Yes, Kazekage-sama?"

The Sandaime Kazekage smiled. "Good luck, Kurome."

**

* * *

**

Naruto was dreaming again. It seemed like it had only been seconds since his head had hit the pillow, but he was happily drifting off into oblivion when a sudden pressure cleared his mind. Blinking, Naruto shook his head and looked around. A slight splashing noise alerted him to a newcomer to the dank sewage tunnel that was Naruto's mind. Naruto scowled.

"It's you again," he muttered. Minato held his hands up in a peaceful motion.

"Sorry I didn't visit before," he laughed jokingly. "I was caught up on some business." Naruto scoffed. There were more splashes as Minato slowly walked forwards.

"Why didn't you tell me about...Aiko?" Naruto suddenly demanded. "A fat load of help you were back then, _Naruto._" Minato flinched at the mention of his previous name.

Naruto felt a sudden hot rage spill over him. Minato could have warned him before Aiko had gone on that mission. Minato could have offered him some sort of comfort after Aiko's death. Heck, Minato could have even told him about the reason Naruto was even here, stuck in Minato's stead. Instead, he had disappeared into the depths of Naruto's mind for years, not even surfacing to talk once.

"Calm down," Minato said, his hands once again in a pacifying position, as if calming a wild animal. White hot rage filled Naruto as he remembered the black haired chunin – no, jounin – sitting with him, laughing with him, cooking for him.

"Calm down? CALM DOWN?! LIKE YOU'RE ONE TO TALK! WHY COULDN'T YOU HAVE TOLD ME BEFORE SHE WENT ON THAT MISSION?!"

Minato pinned him with an icy cold glare. "Because that would have changed the timeline!" he hissed back, starting to leak killing intent. Naruto wasn't fazed, and returned it in full force.

"To hell with the timeline," Naruto retorted, in a lower but equally hostile voice. "Why can't I change it?"

Minato sighed and leaned against a slimy looking wall, although no filth seemed to appear on his flame decorated white coat. "Change..." he whispered tiredly, but seemed to have no answer to Naruto's question. Minato's blue eyes, narrowed in thought, were the last things that Naruto saw before he woke.

**

* * *

**

The first thing Naruto noticed when he walked into the training field was that his teammates and Jiraiya were already there. The second thing that he noticed was that Jiraiya was holding his huge summoning scroll with its end on the ground.

Naruto motioned to the scroll. "What's that?" he asked. The other half of him was asking, 'am I going to get to sign it?'

Jiraiya smirked. "This is the summoning contract to the toads," he replied. Katsuo suddenly looked interested. "Do we get to sign it?" he asked curiously. Jiraiya shook his head.

"I think it would be more sensible for Minato to sign it," he answered. "The reason for this is that since you use precise chakra controlled medical jutsu to fight as well as genjutsu, it would be impractical for you to sign this scroll. While reasonably flexible, the toads are rather slow and would be unsuitable for your purposes. Kasumi, although you utilise taijutsu more often in a battle, your chakra reserves are around the same as Katsuo's. Any kind of summoning would drain you significantly, which is worse off than having no summon in the first place. Hence, Minato is the realistic choice. His chakra capacity and long range ninjutsu are more compatible with the toads."

"So I get to sign it?" Naruto asked carefully, rubbing the back of his head. Jiraiya grinned at him.

"You can sign it if you can get it from me!" he replied before strapping the summoning scroll to his back and jumping away. Naruto sighed in exasperation and wiped away the beads of sweat that were running down his forehead. Damn Jiraiya for making him work out on a hot day like this.

**

* * *

**

Chasing Jiraiya around Konoha was actually more of a workout than Naruto had thought it would be. Despite the Sannin's seemingly slow and bulky appearance, he was actually fast when he wanted to be. Adding to his experience in running and hiding, Jiraiya made a very slippery opponent indeed.

Naruto paused on top of a roof in order to survey his surroundings with a little more care and frowned. So far, the morning had gone by without any progress whatsoever. Jiraiya had managed to keep out of sight for the general part, unless he was leading Naruto on. More often than not, the Jiraiyas that Naruto saw were actually clones.

Naruto absently wondered what Katsuo and Kasumi were doing as he peered out across the village. Then he shook his head. Now was no time to be thinking about his teammates! No doubt Jiraiya had left them with something to do while he led Naruto off on a wild goose chase. It would be just like his teacher to do something like that.

Slightly annoyed that he had gotten off track with his thoughts again, Naruto anxiously scanned the village again. He had to think like a ninja. Where would Jiraiya be?

After a few moments of frustration, the answer clicked. Of course! Naruto could have hit himself. Jiraiya would be at the hot springs.

He leaped away, bounding across the various rooftops as he went, drawing many bemused looks from the villagers who happened to look up as Naruto passed them.

**

* * *

**

Arriving at the bath houses, Naruto took the time to use a Henge to transform into a busty young blonde. It probably wouldn't fool Jiraiya for long, but hopefully it would distract him enough for Naruto to snatch the scroll. Additionally, it provided the security of being able to pass through the women's section of the hot springs without being harassed.

Walking along the corridors leading to the hot springs, Naruto easily spotted Jiraiya peeking through a hole in the partition, giggling softly to himself. Just before the pervert turned around, Naruto quickly made a seal and transformed into Tsunade.

Jiraiya's mouth dropped. "T-Tsunade!" he squeaked, backing away. Naruto raised an eyebrow, inwardly impressed at the amount of fear Jiraiya showed in the presence of his teammate. Naruto would have to exploit this some day. But for now...

The summoning contract was rolled up and on the floor in front of Jiraiya. Naruto suspected it was because it had simply become too uncomfortable to balance with while crouched and looking through a crack in a wall.

Utilising all of his speed, Naruto charged at Jiraiya, not shifting his focus to the summoning scroll until the last second, quickly snatching it and jumping away, his Henge melting away as he left.

Naruto laughed. _Success._ Now he just had to get back to the training ground.

**

* * *

**

"Again!" Jiraiya demanded, his arms crossed over his chest. Naruto huffed grumpily and his hands blurred into seals. _Boar, Dog, Bird, Monkey, Ram._

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" Naruto's voice held a note of exasperation in it.

"Hey, what's the big idea? This is the second time I've been summoned in five minutes!"

Jiraiya sulked as the small toad hopped around, asking inane questions. "I don't get it!" he cried out loud. "How come you can summon so easily? It took me a month to be able to summon properly!"

Naruto grinned. Oh, how lovely it was to hear that he had beaten his teacher at something. "Maybe your chakra control sucked," he suggested, absentmindedly dispelling the young summon. Looking over to his teammates, he found Katsuo fiddling around with a medical jutsu from a scroll that Jiraiya had given him, and Kasumi launching shuriken and kunai projectiles as well as throwing standard taijutsu moves...while on the water surface. Currently she was using a Kage Bunshin of Jiraiya as her target practice. Another Jiraiya stood with Katsuo, occasionally pointing out little odd things for him.

This was the routine that Jiraiya had started with the team. One day everyone would be working on separate projects, and another they would be working on teamwork, usually involving at least one three on one spar with their sensei.

The Jiraiya with Naruto stuck his tongue out in an amazingly childish display. He finally stopped ordering Naruto to summon again and again, much to the blonde's relief. Naruto turned around and smiled. It was time to get his favourite technique back.

His hands came up in the familiar seal. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Naruto mumbled quietly, and watched as the clone started spinning its hands above his own, the telltale wisps of blue chakra starting to appear.

Naruto was so engrossed in the creation of his Rasengan that he didn't notice Jiraiya come up behind him and watch in curiosity. He relaxed slightly, trusting in his clone to do the rest of the work with shape manipulation. Without warning, the strands of chakra dissipated, and then flickered back to life, coalescing into a mass of chakra that exploded in Naruto's face.

Naruto barely had time to use a substitution jutsu before the resulting explosion tore up the ground, leaving a small crater. He grimaced as he relived his clone's grisly end. Looking around, he saw a singed looking Jiraiya, looking annoyed.

"What was that?" he asked Naruto, looking distinctly unimpressed. Naruto grunted, looking at the mini crater that he had left. Why hadn't the Rasengan worked?

"Just a jutsu," he muttered back as he thought about the possible reasons that the jutsu would blow up in his face. Jiraiya raised a scorched eyebrow.

"I've never heard about that particular technique before, Minato," he replied. "And I know my jutsu!" Naruto stared back at him for a moment, before shaking his head.

"You wouldn't have heard of it," he told his sensei. "Because I'm the one who made it up. It's not finished, though."

Jiraiya's eyebrows rose to his hairline as Naruto grimaced inwardly. He had just remembered the thought that had been niggling in the back of his head for a while. The Yondaime had finished – or at least completed it without nature manipulation – the Rasengan in three years. Three years! Naruto had finished it in a month.

Naruto really sincerely hoped that he wasn't fated to take that long as well. Although, he wryly reflected, he didn't seem to be changing the timeline much at all. Maybe he truly was Minato after all.

He sighed. If the latter part was the case, then Naruto resigned himself to three years of trying to make the spiralling blue ball work. This brought him back to his original question.

Why didn't the Rasengan work with his clone? Did Naruto really have to use his own mental willpower to make the jutsu work?

**

* * *

**

The three genin were staying at Katsuo's place for the night. Mai, Katsuo's mother, had warmly welcomed Naruto and Kasumi into their home, and the three twelve year olds, along with Tetsuya and Mai, had sat down to a pleasurable dinner affair.

Now the three genin of Team Jiraiya were up in Katsuo's room, playing cards with each other and generally the aimless chatter of young almost-teenagers.

Kasumi suddenly stirred from her position on the floor stomach down and gave an inquisitive look towards Naruto.

"Say, Minato," she started, briefly glancing at the hand of cards she had been dealt. "What was that huge explosion on the training field today?" Katsuo also looked to Naruto.

"It looked pretty painful to Jiraiya-sensei, though," he added, grinning. Naruto felt the tiniest twinge of guilt for the white haired Toad Sage. With all three of his genin gunning for him, why, Jiraiya would have white hair before he hit thirty!

Then Naruto realised that his figure of speech didn't really work as Jiraiya already had white hair, and snapped back to reality as he saw Kasumi's hand waving in his face. "Hello?" she was asking. "Anybody home?"

Naruto's eyes followed the hand all the way back up to the black haired girl's face. "Oh," he said. "That was just a new jutsu I'm trying to come up with."

Katsuo looked distinctly impressed. "That's so cool, Minato! I wish I could make up techniques like you!"

Naruto snorted. "Well...that explosion wasn't really what I was aiming for, though," he replied. "I was actually trying to create a small, self sustaining ball of chakra that could be used in a battle. The thing that happened this afternoon was actually the stupid jutsu backfiring on me."

"Well, you could probably make a completely new technique out of the explosion, too," Kasumi laughed. "Then you'd end up with two new jutsu!"

Naruto grinned. "That's possible," he said, and he was about to blabber out his fantasies of a super powerful exploding jutsu when the door opened and Mai entered the room.

"What are you three doing awake at this hour?" she demanded, although there was no real heat to her tone. Instead, she looked rather amused. The three teammates glanced at each other nervously, but were saved from replying by the woman herself.

"No matter. First, go and freshen yourselves up. Then, get to bed as soon as possible. Now go!" she ushered the three out of Katsuo's bedroom and into the bathroom.

Once everyone had finished brushing their teeth, Katsuo, Kasumi and Naruto headed down the stairs and into the living room, where there were three futons laid out for them. Tetsuya was busy writing something on a table in the room, but he quickly stowed it away into a drawer when they came.

"I'll go and let you get some shut-eye here," he said, flicking off the switch. "Good night, kids."

"Good night, everyone," came the assorted replies as the three genin drifted off to the happy oblivion that happened to be called sleep.

**

* * *

**

**Author's Notes:** A much more Naruto centric chapter here. I really enjoy going and looking up information on my characters, such a wealth of information to reap!

This was sort of an in between chapter, but hopefully I added in enough 'new' concepts and elements to keep you all interested. Hope you enjoyed it! Read and review please, constructive criticism, corrections and suggestions are welcome.

Shunshin: Body Flicker

Henge: Transformation

Kuchiyose no Jutsu: Summoning Technique

Kage Bunshin: Shadow Clone

Rasengan: Spiraling Sphere


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's Notes:** Ugh, been putting this one off for a while, but I'm back now! Hopefully my (kind of) absence is made up for this slightly longer chapter.

Wow! I can't believe that my story's already been up for a month! Thanks for all your generous reviews, you really rock!

A few people have been requesting for me to change 'Naruto' to 'Minato'. Unfortunately I won't be doing that – and yes, there are actually a few reasons for that, one of them being that 'Minato' still exists in Naruto's mind.

And there can't be two Minatos, right?

**

* * *

**

"Looks like Kami's against you herself, Naruto," Minato smirked, eliciting a wordless snarl from the younger blonde. "Rasengan not working, hmmm?"

Naruto scowled at him. Minato really had an annoying aspect to his personality. He kicked some water across to the older version of himself. "And what's the reason for that?" Naruto asked, trying not to let his irritation show. He wanted to be able to perform Rasengan, damn it!

Minato stared at him. "Divine intervention," he said finally.

Naruto scowled, and Minato shrugged, raising his hands. "Actually I never figured out why it took so long to make it work. Probably from disuse, or maybe because this body can't handle the Kage Bunshin as well as your original body."

"That doesn't work," Naruto replied. "It only takes one clone to start the Rasengan, and I can create twenty at a time."

"That would have something to do with being a demon host," Minato said thoughtfully, tapping his chin with a finger and supporting his elbow with another hand. "Although some shinobi have the chakra reserves to call upon twenty or so Kage Bunshin, none of them have the capacity to create a clone that is truly independent in thought."

"I make clones almost every day," Naruto answered back acerbically. "They finish all of our D-rank missions, in case you haven't noticed."

Minato slowly shook his head, an irritating smile on his lips. "That wasn't what I meant," he said. "You create the clones, and the clones finish your missions. However, do your clones actually think for themselves?"

A slight shake of the head. A negative.

"The density of demonic chakra affects your own chakra in a way that no one can identify," Minato told him. "It influences your own jutsu. Now with Kyuubi in mind...what do you think it is?"

Naruto was confused. "A fox?" he asked, bemused.

Minato nodded, looking every bit the passionate scientist. "Exactly," he said. "And what are foxes renowned for? Trickery, deception and strength of mind and will."

It was slowly dawning on Naruto. "And with the influence on Kage Bunshin..." he trailed off.

"Yes," Minato replied. "Your Kage Bunshin are modified, leaving you with something better – a shadow clone with the mind of the user."

"So take away the demonic chakra..." Naruto started.

"...and your Kage Bunshins' smarts are gone." Minato finished, crossing his arms. "Hence, you've got a clone with only a vague instruction in mind, and a volatile amount of chakra in your hand. Big boom."

Naruto groaned. "Damn it," he complained. "Now I'll have to learn how to do the Rasengan one handed."

Minato smirked and folded his arms. "And now you see why I took three years to master this thing."

**

* * *

**

It was with a scowl that Naruto joined his team on his way to the Hokage Tower to receive another mission. Although stewing over the fact that a long three years were ahead of him, a wave from Katsuo and a smile from Kasumi was all that was needed to bring Naruto back from his annoyance.

"Good morning, Team Jiraiya!" Jiraiya exclaimed with enthusiasm. Kasumi looked torn between risking antagonising the Hokage and hitting her sensei and staying still and silent. Being the impetuous and hot-tempered girl she was, she naturally chose the former.

Naruto slapped a hand over his mouth to avoid bursting out in laughter at the scene presented in front of him: a wide eyed Sarutobi seemingly forgetting his pipe and watching Kasumi while Jiraiya nursed a growing bump on his head. There was a noise from Kasumi that sounded suspiciously like "pervert".

"Does she do that to every pervert she sees?" The Third Hokage asked in a stage whisper to nobody in particular.

"Yes," Jiraiya moaned back. Sarutobi gulped, but quickly straightened up. "Ah, the perfect D-rank for a lovely day like this," he said hurriedly. "I'm sure you three will have fun weeding Kiku-san's garden again."

Katsuo rubbed his hands together. "Excellent," he said happily. "Minato can set his clones on her garden and we can fit in some training together!"

Jiraiya nodded. "Perfect time work on some teamwork," he agreed, a grin lighting up his eyes. "It certainly will be useful if I enter you three in the Chunin Exams."

**

* * *

**

"Are you actually going to enter us, Jiraiya-sensei?" Katsuo asked, tilting his head to one side as the four arrived at a training ground not too far from the garden they were supposed to be weeding. "Or is that just part of some grand plan to work us to death so you can fit in some 'research'?"

Jiraiya looked offended that he had even been asked that question. "Of course not!" he exclaimed. "But there are only two weeks left now, and none of you have given any real reason for me to let you participate."

The three genin looked at each other and smirked in unison. Kasumi was their voice. "We'll work on our solo training for the first half hour," she announced, but then pinned Jiraiya with an evil smile. "But then, we're going to have a spar, the three of us on you, the 'legendary' Toad Sannin."

The identical looks from Kasumi, Katsuo and Naruto were enough to send shivers down Jiraiya's spine. "A-Alright," he stuttered out, waving his arms in a placating manner in front of him. "I'll er...go ahead and get warmed up."

Naruto watched Jiraiya leave before turning back to his own devices. He raised his right arm in front of him, palm up, and was about to initiate the Rasengan when a voice brought him back to reality.

"Oh, Minato, before I go, I'll leave you with these water balloons," Jiraiya's voice sounded next to him. Naruto jerked up out of reflex and looked at Jiraiya with wide eyes. "Don't have a clue as to why you'd want them though," he continued, but smiled and left a bag of water balloons standing next to Naruto.

Naruto's mind was spinning. Who could have asked Jiraiya to give him the balloons? He hadn't told _anyone_ about the process of Rasengan, not even the Sandaime Hokage, to whom he had just given the basics of his time.

Who else knew about his secret? The very thought was chilling. Was Naruto about to change the course of time?

The water balloons continued to stare up at him innocently, and Naruto snapped out of his contemplation in order to fill them all up with water from a nearby stream located in the training ground his team was in.

Naruto held the brightly coloured balloon in his hand, ignoring the raised-eyebrow looks from his teammates and started swirling the water to the left, forehead creasing in concentration.

Even one direction was hard to maintain. Naruto had to keep a thread of focus for every single different direction he wanted the water to rotate, and he was struggling to keep the one rotation going already. In what seemed like hours, but was in reality only a few minutes, Naruto kept the one rotation moving. A bead of sweat trickled down the back of his neck.

Finally, he stopped, exhausted. The nagging pull of the chakra Naruto had expended on the shadow clones plus the extreme chakra control he had to manipulate for the Rasengan had left him worn out. He burst the balloon with a tight squeeze of his hand, and let the cold water splash all over his face before dropping the balloon back into the bag.

"Don't tell me – that's part of your new jutsu, too?" Kasumi asked dryly, looking at the water balloons and then back at Naruto. "And you look exhausted. In about ten minutes, we're going to spar with Jiraiya-sensei. Have you forgotten that already, Minato?"

Naruto grunted in response, brushing his dripping bangs out of his eyes. "Just give me a moment," he mumbled, collapsing onto the grass beneath a tree. A Kage Bunshin dispelled itself from its job at Kiku's garden, informing Naruto that his clones had finished their job. They slowly dispelled one by one, making sure not to overload Naruto's brain and filling him with chakra as they dispersed.

A few minutes later, Naruto sat up again. He had caught his breath again and was now quietly meditating on the shady ground, cooling himself down in preparation for the fight ahead.

Jiraiya appeared right on time with a Shunshin, although he didn't take any of his genin by surprise. "Hey," was all he said in greeting. Katsuo lurched to his feet and cracked his knuckles while Kasumi redid her hair into a tight bun, none of it escaping to hinder her field of vision. Naruto stood up and flashed a smile at Jiraiya, who smiled back nervously in response. Obviously he had still not quite gotten over his fear of Kasumi.

"Okay, here are the rules," Jiraiya announced. "As soon as the clock hits twelve noon, we stop. That means you have an hour to try and win. I win if I incapacitate or knock unconscious all three of you. You win if you incapacitate or knock me unconscious. Revival of unconscious teammates and releasing out of action teammates is allowed. Everything is allowed except for fatal attacks. Everyone got it? Got any questions?"

Kasumi smiled. "When do we start?" she asked. Jiraiya jumped back, his arm already reaching for a kunai.

"Now."

Jiraiya made a hand seal and simply...disappeared.

Naruto's eyes widened and he barely had time to shout out a warning before the white haired Sannin was in front of Katsuo, arm cocking back for a punch. Jiraiya certainly wasn't pulling his shots this time.

Katsuo reacted instinctively, jumping backwards with a chakra enhanced leap, but a little too late. Jiraiya's punch clipped him, sending the brown haired boy reeling.

Kasumi turned to Naruto and nodded slightly to him. Naruto inclined his head, signalling her that he understood. He ran over to Kasumi so they were standing side by side and began a sealing sequence.

"Katon: Karyū Endan!" A nearly white hot flame came blasting from Naruto's mouth, in a straight line towards Jiraiya. The Sannin merely dodged out of the way, not expending the chakra to directly counteract the jutsu.

Five shuriken came spinning out of the flames extremely fast, glowing red hot from the fire attack that Naruto had just used. Jiraiya's eyes widened in surprise, but he simply deflected them all with a kunai.

Katsuo, who had recovered from Jiraiya's punch, drew six glittering senbon from his holster, three in each hand. Jiraiya's head immediately swivelled towards him, although he still kept a wary eye on Kasumi and Naruto.

Katsuo flung the senbon at Jiraiya, who prepared to deflect the projectiles again, but at that moment both Kasumi and Naruto acted.

"Senbon Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

"Senbon Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Six senbon suddenly became sixty. Jiraiya lifted his kunai, but he looked around at the approaching senbon in apprehension. He did not have any way to differentiate between the real senbon and the fake, and his three students had already disappeared from view, probably hoping to catch him when he was busy getting rid of the flying needles. Jiraiya scowled. It looked like he had to use a ninjutsu already.

"Doton: Doryūheki." Jiraiya spat the mud from his mouth hurriedly, hoping it would solidify in time. The earth wall hardened just in time, and the Sannin could hear the multiple senbon lodging themselves into the wall. Jiraiya had no doubt that if he had stayed still, all of the needles would have hit.

Naruto had been counting on Jiraiya to create the strongest possible wall – and therefore, blocking out most sound from the other side. Unbeknownst to Team Jiraiya's sensei, the three genin had not actually run away from their starting location. Katsuo had merely cast a genjutsu over Jiraiya. In addition to the flying senbon covering quite a bit of his vision, the illusion had been easy to pull off.

Now Naruto prepared a jutsu that he had learnt from a scroll taken from Konoha Library a while ago. He thanked his foresight in listening to Jiraiya in one of his lectures about nature manipulation.

"Raiton: Jibashi!" A wave of electricity shot from Naruto's hands, easily tearing into Jiraiya's shield of solidified mud. Behind the wall, Jiraiya showed exactly why he deserved the title of Sannin by jumping away with moments to spare, and at the same time launching a water jutsu in the general direction of the three genin. Naruto immediately stopped the flow of lightning, knowing that as soon as the juts hit them, he would be fried as the jutsu backfired.

The three scattered, not willing to get wet and disorientated. Jiraiya used this time to breathe out fireballs at them, still suspended in the air. Kasumi easily dodged them, having ample time to determine their trajectory.

However, she didn't expect one of the fireballs to have kunai and shuriken flying in its shadow, and a shallow slice appeared on her upper arm, making the kunoichi cry out in surprise.

"Minato! Katsuo! There are kunai in some of them!" she called to her teammates, taking careful note of each fireball that rained down on her.

Jiraiya landed gracefully, landing in a low crouch and ready to meet any attacks. Naruto smirked. All four of them looked slightly worse for the wear – the genin having singe marks on their clothes as well as Kasumi's slightly bleeding arm while Jiraiya was looking only a little fatigued, although with his clothes slightly blackened from contact with Naruto's lightning jutsu.

He grinned at them. "Only forty minutes left," he beamed, cracking his knuckles and slowly straightened up. Katsuo stiffened, expecting another lightning fast attack, but Jiraiya only walked forwards slowly.

Impatient, it was Kasumi who broke the tense atmosphere first, flinging shuriken without abandon at Jiraiya, who made a single snake seal.

"Hari Jizō." The Sannin's white hair suddenly lengthened and wrapped around his body, hardening and forming spikes. The rain of shuriken all but bounced off the harder than steel hair.

Without warning, the hair shrunk back to its normal shape, and Jiraiya was once again open to the world. Quickly moving again, he took a leap and landed directly behind Kasumi. Before she had a chance to react, Jiraiya's hand snaked out and hit a pressure point at the base of her neck. Kasumi collapsed wordlessly.

"Kasumi!" the shout came from both male genin, who turned around in unison to stare at Jiraiya with murderous intent. Jiraiya gulped a bit. Katsuo ran over to Kasumi in an attempt to wake her up, but it was a futile attempt as he heard a distinctive whistle in the air as several kunai raced towards him. Eyes widening, Katsuo prepared to deflect them although he knew it was too late already.

Salvation came in the form of Naruto, who stepped in front of his two teammates and easily dispatched the metal projectiles.

Katsuo focused his chakra and went into a specialised taijutsu stance, his hands glowing green with medical chakra. Clearly, he wasn't fooling around at all. Naruto fell into step with him, arms raised in a poised position.

"Bunshin no Jutsu." Lots of Jiraiyas flickered to life, and Katsuo's eyes darted around, confidence suddenly wavering. However, Naruto had learned the trick to clones in his previous time, and knew how to differentiate between clone and original.

"Stay back," he whispered to Katsuo, who looked like he wanted to rebel. However, one look at Naruto's eyes showed him that Naruto knew what he was doing, and he let him move forwards, albeit reluctantly. Katsuo wanted to rip into Jiraiya as well for hurting Kasumi, after all.

Naruto's eyes carefully tracked all ten of the clones, keeping an eye out for the insubstantial clones' distinctive traits – not kicking up any dirt, and especially noting the distinguishing lack of grass crunching beneath their feet.

He grinned inwardly to himself as he found the real Jiraiya – the only one changing the landscape around him – but he launched himself at a fake anyway. As soon as he was surrounded by the Bunshin, Naruto made a few shadow clones and switched himself with one of them, landing outside the ring of Jiraiya's clones. He used a Doton jutsu, melting into the earth, and suppressed his chakra as well as he could before re-emerging again behind Jiraiya.

His trick didn't work. Jiraiya sensed him as soon as he appeared from below the ground – what was it that alerted the white haired Sannin to his presence? – and used a grappling move to throw Naruto to the ground a few metres away from here, almost next to Katsuo again. There was a poof of smoke, and two Kage Bunshin launched themselves at both Naruto and Katsuo, pressing the tip of a kunai into their backs.

Jiraiya smirked from his position a few metres away from them. "Looks like I win, boys," he crowed, grinning like a maniac. Katsuo looked mildly annoyed that the spar was over, but Naruto lifted his head from the ground, wincing at the uncomfortable sensation of a kunai held to his back.

"Not so fast," he replied, and motioned for Jiraiya to look behind him. As soon as he did so, Naruto replaced himself with a nearby log without any seals, and kicked the shadow clone pinning him down. It dispelled in a cloud of smoke.

Then he turned back to Jiraiya, who was looking rather disgruntled with a Kage Bunshin tapping his neck idly with the flat side of a kunai.

"When did you make it?" Jiraiya asked finally, motioning towards the clone behind him. Naruto smirked right back at him, rather pleased that he had outwitted the Sannin. "After you had me surrounded with Bunshin, I used the Kage Bunshin technique and replaced myself with one. The other one remained hidden while the first kept your attention with your own clones."

Katsuo was looking at him with something akin to wonder on his face, but it was quickly replaced by a grin. "Well, it looks like we won then, Jiraiya-sensei," he told Jiraiya. "You're incapacitated, and Minato's free."

Jiraiya shook his head with mock sadness. "Katsuo-kun, I don't believe you have observed closely yet," he said, smiling. He used a free hand to point behind the two boys, who looked.

A wide awake Kasumi was glaring at another Jiraiya clone, who held a kunai to her neck.

"In a real life situation, you three would all be dead," Jiraiya told them. "Which means I win, of course."

Kasumi scowled. "You twisted the rules around, you pervert!" she yelled back brazenly. "Just 'cause you know you lost, doesn't mean you have to be a sore loser about it!"

Jiraiya wiped a tear from his eye and dispelled all of his shadow clones at the same time as Naruto.

"Kasumi's right, you know," Katsuo informed him, rubbing his arms a bit. "You are a sore loser."

"Aaah," Jiraiya lamented, "everyone's against me!"

"You're buying lunch, sensei," Kasumi said cheerfully as she slung an arm around her teammates' shoulders. "You said so before, at least."

Jiraiya looked confused. "I did?" he asked blankly, his mind coming up with nothing. "No I didn't!"

"Did so!" the retort came from all three genin, and they looked at each other, surprised. Jiraiya sniffed and looked at his wallet. "My poor money," he groaned, looking woeful. Naruto snorted.

"Like hell," he answered right back. "You make enough money as it is writing all those dirty novels." Naruto distinctly remembered looking at Jiraiya's cheque book and later complaining to him about all his money.

Kasumi looked appalled. "That's...that's just...!" she trailed off, looking murderously at Jiraiya. "Is that true?!"

Jiraiya rubbed the back of his neck nervously and laughed. "Er...how about we get to that lunch, huh?" he hurriedly interjected. A tidal wave of relief broke over Jiraiya as Kasumi didn't bother to pick up her rant again.

**

* * *

**

"Now, I'm sure all of you understand why I have summoned you today," Sarutobi said, pipe firmly wedged in between his teeth. The assorted jounin all nodded in return to the Hokage's statement.

"The Chunin Exams are in two weeks time," the Sandaime answered himself. "All of you here today are a jounin sensei to a genin cell. I would like to ask you all if you would wish to enter your students."

A grey haired jounin with gravity defying hair in spikes stepped up. "I, Hatake Sakumo, nominate my genin team for the Chunin Exams."

The chunin instructor Takuma, who was sitting next to the Sandaime Hokage with a clipboard, jotted something down quickly and gave a nod to Sarutobi. "Next," he called. Out of the corner of his eye, Sarutobi noticed Jiraiya joining the line of jounin signing up their genin for the exams.

"I, Jiraiya of the Sannin would like to nominate my genin team for the Chunin Exams," he declared in a loud voice. There were several mutters from all around him.

"...rookies! How could..."

"...irresponsible, I just..."

"...they're just...!"

Takuma watched Jiraiya speculatively.

"Jiraiya," Sarutobi began, taking out his pipe. "I hope you understand the consequences of nominating your students. No matter how talented, they are, after all, just rookies, green ninja to the field. As you can see, none of your fellow rookie instructors have nominated their teams."

Jiraiya snorted. "With all due respect, Sarutobi-sensei, I think I would know if my team was ready for the exams or not. I've trained these kids well, sensei. They're as well prepared as they can get."

Sarutobi hesitated, and then glanced at Takuma. "Very well," he replied. "Next."

Mutters once again broke out in the room, but Sarutobi forcefully silenced them.

"Enough!" he said, casting his glance around the room. The jounin instructors looked slightly abashed at their show of immaturity. Honestly! They were gossiping like old women.

"How many countries are participating in this Chunin Exam?" a jounin asked from the middle of the crowd. Once again, Sarutobi glanced at Takuma, who sighed and stood up, clasping his hands behind his back.

"This year, there are many competitors. Competing are two teams from Ame, one team from Kusa, one team from Suna, three teams from Iwa, two teams from Kumo and none from Kiri."

Disbelieving murmurs ran around the room. "So many?" someone called out. Sarutobi nodded.

"That is true," he replied. "I believe we can expect a great deal of visitors from these countries, and quite a few Kage for our final tournament. You understand what this means, of course."

"Tightened security – a heck of a lot more tightened though," another person muttered. The Hokage nodded approvingly at him.

"If that is all...?" he asked. No one else stepped forward to nominate their team.

"Dismissed then," he ordered. "May your teams do well."

Outside the Hokage Tower, Jiraiya frowned. There were representatives from nearly all of the major shinobi countries, which would undoubtedly make tensions run high between the countries. After all, were the chunin exams not an alternative for war?

Added to that, what he had noticed about Iwa recently...this definitely bore looking into. Jiraiya would have to have a serious talk with his team soon.

**

* * *

**

**Author's Notes:** Yay, lots of action in this chapter, and lots of lovely little jutsu to decipher. Note: I did make up both senbon jutsu. I thought, 'what the heck, if you can make shadow clones of a shuriken, you can do it with other stuff like kunai and senbon.'

About Sakumo as a pre-emptive answer: Why not? His team will be soon revealed anyway.

Comments, reviews, constructive criticism, suggestions and corrections (wow the list just gets longer and longer) are appreciated and helpful. Hopefully you all liked my explanation about Rasengan – but don't worry, more will be explained...later.

What I really like doing is continually making use of the Bunshin technique. I mean, the clone is one of the three VITAL academy techniques – the others being transformation and substitution. What you don't see in the series is anyone (apart from Sakura, who really doesn't know anything else) using the Bunshin again after graduating. How annoying! Sometimes the simplest things can affect the outcome of a battle after all...

Oops, didn't mean to go on a tirade there. /rant end.

-Dream Keys

Kami – God

Rasengan – Spiralling Sphere

Kage Bunshin – Shadow Clone

Shunshin – Body Flicker

Katon: Karyū Endan: Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Missile

Senbon Kage Bunshin no Jutsu: Senbon Shadow Clone Technique

Senbon Bunshin no Jutsu: Senbon Clone Technique

Doton: Doryūheki: Earth Release: Earth Style Wall

Raiton: Jibashi: Lightning Release: Electromagnetic Murder

Hari Jizō: Needle Jizo

Bunshin no Jutsu: Clone Technique

Kage: Shadow (in this case, the leader of a Hidden Village)


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's Notes:** Here's the latest chapter! Thanks to all my wonderful reviewers – finally reached the 100 milestone! – you guys have blown me away. Enjoy!

Oh, before I get a move on – the new episode came out, yay! The Ame orphans are so cute =]. Damn, now I have the strangest urge to go write something about them.

* * *

The last day to the Chunin Exams left Naruto buzzing with nervous energy. He had no idea about what the exams would contain – he had never heard anything about them from anyone that had known Minato.

Minato was once again being a pain and refusing to answer his questions, much to Naruto's eternal annoyance. Naruto's older version of himself was quickly becoming an irritation.

Nevertheless, he hummed cheerfully as he walked down the busy streets of Konoha. Jiraiya had ordered his tall to do nothing taxing for the last day – which included D-rank missions. This meant that Naruto, Katsuo and Kasumi were stuck for the whole day doing nothing. Heck, Jiraiya had even forbidden Naruto from creating Kage Bunshin!

The last week had seen many foreigners entering Konoha, putting the military village into a higher state of alert than usual. It was only to be expected however – there were a great deal of foreign ninja, especially from the other major countries, entering this time and Konoha was taking no chances. Out of the corner of his eye, Naruto noticed a team of ANBU running a regular patrol across the rooftops.

Naruto was on his way to meet up with his two friends at Katsuo's house, but he was taking his time by taking the long way by walking through the crowded streets. Turning off into a smaller road, Naruto found himself face to face with Kasumi, who looked surprised for a second before grinning.

"Excellent. Now we can go to Katsuo's together," she proclaimed, before taking his hand and dragging him back into the bustling throng that was the civilian life of the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

Because Kasumi had a civilian background, she knew all of the backstreets and inconspicuous turns that seemingly led into nowhere like the back of her hand. Naruto had never had the time or patience to go mapping the civilian area, and he had never found the need to. However, Naruto found himself grateful for the fact Kasumi knew the area extremely well, as the two made good time.

Soon, they had passed the western gate on their way to Katsuo's house – after all, they were travelling at a slow pace. The two chunin on duty waved at them cheerfully as they passed. Just then, yet another team of foreign ninja entered the gate. One of the chunin jumped up and took a look at their identification before letting them in.

"Minato, stop dawdling!" Kasumi called back at Naruto, who was looking bemusedly at the newcomers. As if sensing his glance, one of the genin on the team turned his head, black ringed eyes meeting blue.

Naruto's eyes widened. Was it possible?

"Minato!" now Kasumi's voice sounded exasperated. "Hurry up!"

The Suna nin was returning his stare flatly, his bemusement obvious. Naruto blinked and jumped as Kasumi nearly screamed in his ear again. "I'm coming, I'm coming!" he said hurriedly, and joined the black haired girl again.

**

* * *

**

"Who was that?"

"...no one." Kurome gave a one armed shrug. His sensei raised an eyebrow but didn't follow through with his questioning any further. Kurome took this in stride, gripping the strap of his gourd and shifting it a bit, easing the twinge that he felt when the container pressed against his shoulder blades.

"We're finally here," his teammate mumbled, yanking a stray lock of white blonde hair out of her face. "Hotel's been reserved for us already, thank the heavens."

Kurome grunted in response. "Midori, three days on the road is barely enough to constitute tiredness. Perhaps the Chunin Exams will teach you a little about that."

Midori scoffed. "If you say so."

After walking down a few more streets, mindful of the invisible stares of various Konoha ninja at their backs, the Sand ninja reached their hotel. Midori sent a sideways glance at her other teammate.

"Satoru?" she asked. The red haired boy blinked at her for a moment before nodding and closing his eyes, although not stopping his movement. After a minute, he reopened them. "Clear," he said.

The team nodded and checked into the hotel, all of them glad to be somewhere comfortable for the night.

**

* * *

**

"Sensei! What are you doing here?"

"Heh, I guessed you three would be here."

Jiraiya sat down on a soft bench seat at the team's favourite restaurant and winked at a young waitress who came to take his order. She quickly did so and left, her shudder going unnoticed by Jiraiya but painfully obvious to Naruto, Katsuo and Kasumi.

The four ate their respective meals in relative silence, until all that was left was the sake that Jiraiya was sipping daintily.

"So...anyway..." Kasumi started. Naruto took one look at her and rolled his eyes. "Not that again!" he groaned. "You've been pestering me about that all morning."

It was true. Kasumi, and Katsuo, after he had been made privy to the information, had been busy asking Naruto about his strange reaction to the foreigners entering Konoha's gates. Jiraiya raised an eyebrow.

"Oh? What's this?" he inquired, wiggling his eyebrows. "Some juicy gossip for me, perhaps?"

Kasumi made a face at his assumption. "Eww. No! We were just talking about that Suna team."

Naruto shrugged a little helplessly, but a quick look at Jiraiya sent his mind ticking. A plan developed in his head. "Well, that guy looked creepy," he said, downplaying his reaction purposefully. Jiraiya immediately took the bait. Perfect.

"Creepy how, Minato?" he asked. Naruto shrugged.

"Well, he was wearing this huge container of something for one," he said evasively. "Oh, and he looked like he wore some kind of make up around his eyes. Who would do that?"

Beside him, Jiraiya stiffened. It looked like he had understood. "Black markings, you say?" he asked deceptively mildly. Naruto inwardly chuckled. It looked like the two of them were playing a game that Naruto held all the cards to. Jiraiya, of course didn't know he was being manipulated so.

"Yeah, like he never sleeps or something." Naruto planted the last seed and watched the fireworks.

Jiraiya's eyes widened this time, they really did. It was so obvious that even Katsuo and Kasumi saw it. "Sensei, is there something wrong?" Katsuo asked, sounding bemused. Jiraiya shook his head furiously.

"It's nothing," he said, waving his hand dismissively. "Look out for that team in particular, though. They sound pretty tough if you ask me."

Naruto smirked a hidden smirk. "Sure, Ero-sennin. Are you leaving now?"

Jiraiya smirked right back, regaining a bit of his lost swagger. "Of course, Minato-kun! Lots of researching to be doing, that's for sure..."

Kasumi looked thunderous, and her fingers twitched towards a kunai holster, which made Jiraiya stand up quickly and leave in a hurry. "Gotta go bye!" he called as he left.

Naruto briefly channelled chakra to his eyes, enhancing his eyes temporarily. Almost immediately he shut the connection, not wanting to risk damaging his eyes from chakra recoil. Sure enough, the Toad Sage was heading towards to Hokage Tower, no doubt to inform Sarutobi about the newcomers.

A question from Katsuo brought Naruto back to the question, and he smiled. Whatever. The Jinchuuriki wasn't his concern at the moment.

**

* * *

**

The door to his office crashed open with a bang, almost causing Sarutobi to reach for a kunai. He had sensed Jiraiya's chakra before of course, but had not expected his old student to be so...volatile.

"Is something the matter, Jiraiya?" he asked normally, gesturing for Jiraiya to sit. Either the Sannin didn't see the gesture or he ignored it.

"The team from Suna," he said. Sarutobi blinked at him. "Excuse me? Suna is our ally, Jiraiya. What's going on?"

"I want to see their files, sensei," Jiraiya replied, his forehead creasing. Sarutobi frowned a little. "Jiraiya, you know that information is classified," he told him. "Why on earth would you want to see that?"

"One of the genin on that team is a Jinchuuriki!" Jiraiya exclaimed, waving his arms around wildly to emphasise his point. "The Ichibi! All of the signs point to it."

The Third Hokage's eyes widened immediately. "A Jinchuuriki, in the exams?" he asked. Sarutobi's hand groped for the exam candidates list. His finger slid down the list until he stopped at the entrants from Suna, and he picked out their files.

"Midori, Kurome and Satoru, genin applicants for the Chunin Exam. Sensei Shitei Juro."

Jiraiya cursed. "Damn it, that information gives me nothing!" he snarled.

Sarutobi blinked at him owlishly. "Jiraiya, why are you getting so worked up over this? This Jinchuuriki...it is not his fault."

Jiraiya had the grace to look abashed. "Sarutobi-sensei, it's not just because it's a Jinchuuriki," he explained. "But this is the Ichibi, a demon who is known for its penchant for destruction and madness. What if it gets out of control?"

Sarutobi looked at him, a small smile lifting the corner of his mouth. A sudden idea popped into his mind. "Well then, perhaps you should teach your students some sealing," he replied. Jiraiya look thunderstruck for a second, before turning to him with an incredulous expression on his face.

"Are you senile, sensei?!" he nearly yelled. Sarutobi merely chuckled in response.

**

* * *

**

The room for the first exam was ironically once again in Room 301, in the Ninja Academy. Before retiring to his apartment, Naruto had warned his teammates to come prepared for a few days of survival. A bit puzzled, but still complying, Katsuo and Kasumi had agreed.

"Excited?"

Kasumi shot Jiraiya a dirty look. "Are you going to let us in or not?" she asked, crossing her arms. Jiraiya pouted a bit but complied, moving to the side and opening the door for them.

"Well...I'd just like to say good luck!"

Jiraiya saluted and pushed the three into the room and shut the door behind them.

**

* * *

**

The room had much less occupants than the first Chunin Exam Naruto had been to, although more than the second one. Looking around, he saw at least twelve teams sitting in the room. Konoha had the most competitors with four teams – and here Naruto got a shock as he saw another version of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio – the first one. They looked around fourteen to fifteen years old, as did most of the other entrants from their respective villages.

Naruto saw a forehead protector from every major country except for Kiri. There would be many Kages visiting for the final tournament.

They quickly took seats, not wanting to attract the attention (or ire) of the other examinees. Sitting in a room full of people all older than them made them nervous like that. Before Naruto could look around properly and perhaps spot the Ichibi Jinchuuriki, the door to the examination room opened, and a familiar looking red haired woman walked out.

"Good morning," she said, and Naruto's eyes widened as he matched the voice to one he had heard in his youth. _That kunoichi from Aiko's team-!_

"My name is Kiriai Akane," Akane announced. "I will be the proctor for your first exam. Everyone come in here and take a seat."

There was a loud shuffling noise as everyone stood at once and filed into the door. Naruto felt a brief feeling of nostalgia as he recognised the room – after all, he had completed a Chunin Exam in this very same place.

Naruto was soon separated from his teammates as he took a seat in the third row, while Katsuo sat in the front and Kasumi a few rows behind him.

Once everyone had quieted down, Akane stepped up, her hands clasped behind her back. "Welcome to the first exam of three," she declared. "This will be a written test, and will take approximately forty-five minutes.

Naruto cocked an eyebrow. Would this written exam be like the one he had endured with Ibiki?

"The rules for this exam are simple. There are thirty questions, and you will complete them before the time limit. There will be no cheating. If one of you cheat and are caught doing so by a chunin proctor, you and your team will automatically fail. If you cannot answer at least one question, the same goes. Likewise, if one person in your team cannot answer a question, then your team fails."

Akane then stared around the room, quieting the muted mutters that reached her ears.. "Remember the ninja tenets, the shinobi rules. On the field, you will never be given the answers."

The test papers were handed out by chunin proctors, and Naruto scribbled in his – Minato's – name before looking up again.

Akane briefly glanced over the participants. "Begin," she said.

There was a flurry of paper turning as everyone looked at the first question on the paper. Naruto's eyes rose above his hairline. What on Earth?

_What does the white chrysanthemum give the shinobi?_

Naruto stared at the question, completely confused. What kind of a question was that? He looked over at the rest of the questions. All of them had a similar query. Naruto's mind came up at a blank. What...?

'Calm down,' he told himself, 'and think. What does a white chrysanthemum symbolise?'

A few minutes later, Naruto frowned. The kunoichi, who had taken flower picking classes, would have known more about this. Naruto himself had never felt a need to understand. He frowned, and looked at the question again. A white chrysanthemum...

Naruto suddenly sat up. What Akane had said was a clue in itself...

_Remember the ninja tenets, the shinobi rules. On the field, you will never be given the answers._

A shinobi rule stated that a ninja would never rely on another giving them the answers, only clues.

_You will never be given the answers._

_Remember the ninja tenets._

_There are no answers, only clues._

_The white chrysanthemum._

Naruto's eyes fell upon the picture of Dainichi, the Buddhist personification of purity and wisdom, becoming briefly annoyed as the sun's rays glared off the shiny plastic. Then he noticed that the light on the picture seemed to look like a picture in itself. The Dainichi portrait was indented in places that made the light shine on the raised surfaces, the lowered ones turning into shadow.

And the light looked distinctly like an arrow...pointing down.

The slightly faded words, 'pure truth' were written on the blackboard behind Akane, possibly from a previous lecture. Naruto's eyes lit up in understanding. Those sneaky bastards!

'Pure', to confirm the arrow from the Dainichi, and 'truth' to give the answer.

_The white chrysanthemum was truth._

_What does the white chrysanthemum give the shinobi?_

_What does truth give the shinobi?_

Naruto blinked. He had been so caught up in the euphoria of achieving the first stage that he had forgotten that he had to answer the question itself.

What _would_ truth give a shinobi? Happiness? Satisfaction? Naruto's brow creased anew. This was hard.

_Lies and deceit is a shinobi's life._

If lies were a ninja's life, then what was truth? Truth was the opposite of lies, so...

_Truth is a shinobi's death._

_The truth gives the shinobi death._

_The white chrysanthemum is truth._

_The white chrysanthemum gives the shinobi death._

Death. Understanding dawned on Naruto, and he scribbled his answer down hurriedly, looking at the next one. He almost groaned aloud. Next was yet another riddle – and he had already spent nearly ten minutes on the first one.

Naruto nearly jumped as a kunai landed in front of the genin sitting next to him. The poor boy jumped in fright. Akane was immediately upon him, eyes narrowed dangerously.

"So, thought you could cheat, did you?" she asked softly. The boy gulped. "You're out. Ten, thirty-two, you're also out."

The three Ame-nin quietly left. Naruto felt a little bit disgruntled that the boy had tried to cheat by peeking at his answers so obviously, but the feeling was quickly gone as he reminded himself that he had to continue with the questions.

But...wait. Caution and instincts waved at him to stop and think, and his first Chunin Exam held at Konoha had taught him to be wary. Only forty-five minutes to complete a thirty question test, with each question taking up so much time – how could anyone possibly finish that?

_Remember the ninja tenets, the shinobi rules._

Of course.

_A shinobi is to complete only what is required of them, no more, no less._

_If you cannot answer at least one question..._

Who was to say that Naruto had to answer _all_ of the questions? He grinned and closed his eyes. With the one answer in his hand, he straightened up again and looked to the front, where Katsuo was sitting. He looked like he was in trouble. Naruto frowned. How could he get the answers to Katsuo without attracting the attention of the proctors and getting his team thrown out?

After a few paralysing minutes, Naruto's mind rebooted himself as he thought of his first exam. He slowly raised his hand.

"Hey, proctor-san!" he called. "I...uh, I need to go to the bathroom."

A chunin examiner stood up and motioned towards the back of the room. "Over here," he said, a faint trace of amusement coating his words. As Naruto went, he saw Kasumi give him a questioning look. He smiled back and winked. Looking confused, she went back to attempting to decipher the first question.

In the toilets, Naruto took advantage of the partitions to quickly create two Kage Bunshin. The clones used a Henge to transform into rather plain looking bugs. They crawled up his long sleeved shirt.

"You done yet?" the chunin growled from nearby. Naruto rolled his eyes as he stepped back into view. "Yeah," he replied, starting to walk towards the door. "I'm done."

When Naruto went past Kasumi's row again on the way back, he made sure to swing his arm down inconspicuously. One of the shadow clones dropped from his arm onto the table leg and crawled on the side of the desk until it reached the black haired kunoichi.

Reaching Katsuo was more of a problem, but Naruto merely dropped off the second Kage Bunshin as soon as he was seated. The bug quickly scurried away to Katsuo.

After a few minutes, Naruto was sure that his teammates had the answers. The two clones dispelled, and Naruto received the memories. Good. Katsuo and Kasumi _had_ received his intelligence.

"Forty-five minutes have elapsed!" Akane shouted suddenly, slamming her hand into the table. "Everyone put down your pencils, now!"

The chunin proctors walked amongst the rows, checking the genins' answers. Naruto was amazed to see that only one more team left – from Iwagakure. It seemed that there were quite a few skilled genin in the exams this time.

Out of the corner of his eye, Naruto noticed Yamanaka Inoichi, who was busy grinning at his two teammates, who were both in front of him with a thumbs up. Naruto took this to mean that they had passed as well.

After a few minutes had passed yet again, Akane crossed her arms across her chest.

"Congratulations to those of you who have passed the first exam. The purpose of this exam was to test your information gathering skills and individual intellect, as well as teamwork. There were clues to every single question hidden around this room. Some of you managed to catch onto the fact that only one question was needed to pass. Congratulations to those of you who understood this."

Akane looked around the room. "In a real life situation, you will be tested on your ability to think quickly and react. If your teammates are not as quick thinking as you, you will also need to do it for them! This is what makes a team. Every person is more skilled at one thing than another, and it is all these elements that make up the whole.

Now I'll let you go to your second exam. Good luck, and hopefully if we meet again you will be chunin."

The door opened and a man with light brown hair and forest green eyes walked in. Naruto quickly recognised him. It was that other ninja who had gone on the mission with Aiko, along with Akane. A brief pang of sadness hit him, but he ruthlessly shook it off. Now wasn't the time to mope...he had a chunin exam to finish.

"My name is Gaishi Yori. I will be the proctor for the second exam."

**

* * *

**

**Author's Notes:** Does anyone else think that the opening scene for Team 7's Chunin Exam was a bit...overkill? I mean, there are only so many genin in a country willing to go to another for an exam...well yeah. Hmm, on second thought they DID say there were what...twenty or so teams still in by the end of exam one?

Hmm...I kind of laughed when I picked out Midori's name. Reminds me a little too much of green spirits. Any questions, comments, reviews, constructive criticism, suggestions and corrections are welcomed.

-Dream Keys

Kage Bunshin: Shadow Clone

Jinchuuriki: Demon Host

Ichibi: One Tail

Kage: Shadow (in this case the leader of a Hidden Village)

Henge: Transformation


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's Notes: **Thanks for giving me such an awesome response, guys! Here's the next chapter. Sorry it's a bit late in coming, having no internet for nearly a day really sucked.

**

* * *

**

The simple "Follow me" had taken the remaining eleven participating teams to the Forest of Death. The sight of the giant trees, complete with creepy hissing noises coming from within the inky depths of the wooded area brought back a wave of nostalgia for Naruto. He grinned. He hadn't been expecting to revisit the training ground again for a while.

"That looks...creepy," Katsuo shuddered, peering through the wire fence. He jumped back as something particularly nasty growled at him from nearby, behind the fence. Loudly, too.

"There are no other words for it," Kasumi agreed, pulling Katsuo back. "We're going in there for the next exam?"

"Alright, everyone! Listen up!" Yori called, gaining the attention of all of the genin before him. "Behind me here is Training Ground 44, also known as the Forest of Death."

Surprisingly, there weren't many mutters amongst the assembled genin. Apparently, they were all too...transfixed by the sight of the forest. Yori cleared his throat.

"Now, before commencing this second exam, everyone must first sign this consent form. These forms basically free us from any obligation to keep you alive. In essence, it means we can't be held responsible for your deaths."

Naruto was unsurprised at that one. After all, it had already been mentioned at the last exam he had been to. Casually, he stuck his hand out for a consent form. Yori gave him a tight smile before handing one to him. As if on a cue, the rest of the genin sprang into motion, each taking a consent form and signing it. Naruto looked around as he handed his sheet back in. Everyone had chosen to sign.

"Now I'll explain to you the rules of your next exam," Yori announced. He gestured behind him with a wave of his hand to a tent behind him. "In the centre of Training Ground 44, there is a tower. The tower is your final destination."

"So it's a race?" someone asked. Yori shook his head. "No. Each team will receive one of two scrolls, either a Heaven or an Earth scroll. The objective is to obtain both a Heaven and an Earth scroll and get to the tower within five days."

"How do we get another scroll?" The female Suna nin asked.

"You can obtain another scroll by stealing one from another team," Yori answered. "If, by the end of five days, you have not reached the tower or have not obtained a Heaven and an Earth scroll, you will be disqualified." He frowned before adding, "Also, killing is allowed, but frowned upon."

"But that means only half of us will get into the next round!" a Kusa genin exclaimed. Yori smirked a little. "Yes, that's right," he replied simply, before checking the time. "Alright, everyone line up to get your scroll."

**

* * *

**

"We got an Earth scroll," Kasumi stated. The scroll in question was actually safely tucked away in the equipment pouch of Naruto.

Katsuo rolled his eyes. "Yes, scream that out to the world once more, why don't you?" he asked sarcastically, before turning back to Naruto. "Hey, Minato? What're you doing?" he waved a hand in front of Naruto, who slapped it away, rolling his eyes.

"...rently, every time it's held in Konoha they use this as the second stage," Inoichi was saying. "At any rate, this shouldn't be too hard, if we're cautious. We are senior genin, after all."

Naruto stopped the flow of chakra to his ears as he straightened up again. He jerked his thumb in the direction of the other Konoha team.

"They've got an Earth scroll as well," he informed his teammates. Katsuo heaved an exasperated sigh.

"Why, oh why do I never think of doing that?" he complained half heartedly. The three looked up as Yori reappeared from the inside of the tent. "Alright, everyone line up at a gate!" he ordered.

As his team lined up, Naruto took the time to examine the other competitors. From Konoha, there were four teams, including his own. He recognised one of them as the first Ino-Shika-Cho trio, and another one as being Hyuuga Hiashi's team, but the other one was completely unknown to him.

There was one team from Ame, as well as one from Kusa. From Suna, there was one team with the Jinchuuriki in it. Iwa and Kumo had two teams each. Although Naruto personally had never competed with any of the two latter nations, he still felt wary – after all, they had all been involved in the Third Great Shinobi War, and not as allies.

"Ready-? Go!" Yori shouted. With a rattling of chains and metal, all eleven gates sprang open. The teams dashed into the thick forest around them.

**

* * *

**

"I guess you were right about bringing supplies," Kasumi remarked as the three settled on one of the highest branches from the ground. "What's the time now?"

Katsuo glanced at the sky. "Early afternoon, I guess," he replied. A sudden scream tore through the air, making all three whip around.

"What the hell was that?" Naruto asked after a moment's pause. Kasumi peered downwards, but couldn't see very far through the obstructing leaves, each one the size of her torso.

"Want to go down and check?" she asked. Naruto shook his head. "No. It's probably best to steer clear of whatever's down there, just in case. Let's just go."

"Er...guys?" Katsuo mumbled. Kasumi and Naruto turned around. "What is – oh." Naruto started to say, but stopped and chuckled weakly. "Hello, spider-san," he mumbled to the ten foot tall arachnid stalking towards them.

"Don't use ninjutsu!" Katsuo called, before grabbing a handful of senbon. Naruto gave the spider a close inspection before shaking his head at the other boy. "That won't work!" he called back, before leaping forward onto the trunk of the tree. "The senbon aren't strong enough to pierce it!"

Naruto jumped again, this time onto the bottom of an overhanging branch so that he was standing upside down. The spider reared back, preparing to attack, but Naruto was quicker, jabbing out with a kunai and taking out one of its eyes.

He leaped back, landing on the branch with Katsuo and Kasumi again.

"Great!" she said, annoyed. "One down, seven more to go!"

"Well I'd like to see you take it down faster!" Naruto retorted, drawing another kunai. Kasumi huffed.

"Fine," she replied, before leaping into the air, similarly to Naruto. However, as Kasumi took a kunai out, she wrapped an explosive tag onto the handle of it, and left it stuck in another of the spider's eyes. Then she jumped back, dusting her hands off as the spider exploded.

"There!" Kasumi exclaimed happily. Naruto rolled his eyes. "I thought we were being discreet here," he murmured. "That explosion probably just brought half of the teams here."

"Then let's go!" Katsuo burst out. "We've still got to get a Heaven scroll."

**

* * *

**

"They didn't have our scroll," Midori called from her crouch amongst the remains of the Iwa team. "Damn."

Kurome shrugged. "It is no matter," he said blandly, plugging his gourd again. "We will find another team and take their scroll."

"There is a team travelling in the branches above us," Satoru remarked, opening his eyes. "Shall we...?" Kurome shook his head.

"No," he replied. "They are...curious. Leave them alone for now."

Satoru shrugged and stretched, yawning vociferously. "Whatever you say," he said. "Anyway, it's starting to get dark. We'll have to stop and get some dinner soon."

**

* * *

**

"Minato, are the traps armed?" Kasumi asked as Naruto leaped up onto the branch. He snorted. "What kind of question is that?" Naruto demanded, before sitting down. Katsuo looked up as Naruto landed, and handed him a piece of beef jerky.

The team was nestled in the branches of two trees growing rather close together, making a comfortable and easily defendable shelter. Naruto had deemed the forest floor too unsafe for passing the night, after observing a giant snail going its way. A small fire lit the end of one of the drier branches, providing heat and light in the rapidly fading daylight.

"You think we can get a scroll tomorrow?" Katsuo murmured sleepily, leaning back on the branch. Naruto shrugged. "Probably," he answered evasively. Chances were, they _would_ get a scroll tomorrow – the forest was only so large, and everyone would be hunting for opposition. They were bound to run into someone soon.

Yawning, Naruto made the seal for a Kage Bunshin before drifting off to sleep.

**

* * *

**

"Evening, Naruto!" Minato called cheerfully, waving at Naruto as he appeared in the tunnel. Naruto scowled slightly. "This is becoming an often occurrence," he replied. Minato shrugged back at him.

"Well, who can blame me if I get a little bored in your mind after a while?" he asked. "Now I feel sorry for Minato when _I_ was in your body." Minato laughed a little. "Get it?"

Suddenly, a question popped into Naruto's head. "Who sent me those balloons?" he asked Minato, who shrugged again. "It was you, of course," he answered. "Who else could it be?"

"I didn't ask Jiraiya to get me those water balloons," Naruto said. "But no one else knows about me either...Minato, tell me what's going on. _Now._"

Minato threw his hands up in the air. "I don't know!" he exclaimed. "Ask me an easier question!"

Naruto shook his head. "Fine," he said. "When did you master the first stage of Rasengan?"

"After...actually, nearly a year," Minato replied, looking serious again. "Why?"

Something flashed in Naruto's eyes. "Never mind," he said, infuriatingly. A small smirk wormed its way onto his lips. "See you later, Minato."

"Wait-!" Minato yelled, but Naruto was already gone.

**

* * *

**

The next day brought about a change in the weather and temperature. The sky was a dull grey and a miserable drizzle of rain brought down the spirits of everyone. It also served to obscure vision, a most annoying aspect.

"I can barely see anything in this crap," Kasumi grumbled, blinking as a water droplet splashed into her eye. She blinked reflexively. "Damn it!"

The temperature had also dropped, making the morning a chilly time to be awake, despite it being the apparent 'warm season'. Dew had made its way onto all of the trees as well as the grass below, making travelling through trees a precarious thing. Naruto made sure that they weren't making any easily followed tracks while Kasumi and Katsuo kept a look out for any potential targets.

"Hey Minato, there's someone up ahead," Katsuo called, glancing back at Naruto. Naruto nodded. "Spread out," he replied.

The team that Naruto, Kasumi and Katsuo had stumbled upon was the only Grass team. They appeared to be resting, each member snugly tucked into the great roots of a tree. It was almost absurdly easy to creep up to them from above.

Naruto flicked his eyes to the Kusa genins' various storage places, and spotted a half hidden scroll with its tip poking out of a bag. Looking up, he saw Kasumi make a motion as if to take the scroll. So she had spotted it as well. Naruto shook his head discretely, and turned back to the genin.

'Test it first,' he mouthed at her. He drew a shuriken and flung it so it landed right beside the pack. As it sunk into the leafy ground, two things happened. Firstly, the leaves and vegetation around the pack dropped away, while the bag itself stayed aloft, suspended above the pit with two camouflaged ninja wires.

Secondly, the eyelids of all three Kusa genin flickered. Naruto smiled in triumph, and glanced back at his two teammates to make sure they had seen it as well.

He flung another shuriken at the first ninja's face. Just as it was about to connect, the boy whipped out the kunai he had been holding onto and struck the shuriken from mid air. It clattered to the ground noisily. From the other tree roots, the other two genin emerged.

"So, it's just you?" the genin Naruto had thrown the shuriken at asked, sounding disappointed. "Well, I guess it doesn't matter. Hopefully, you do have a scroll on you anyway."

Apparently, he hadn't noticed Kasumi and Katsuo next. He re holstered his kunai and drew a ninjato strapped to his waist. Then he launched himself at Naruto, tossing the weapon from hand to hand as he hurdled through the air. Naruto narrowed his eyes, watching the movement of the short sword carefully. As the genin reached him, he struck out with the ninjato with his left hand; a down stroke.

Naruto jumped upwards, springing agilely from a branch and drawing two kunai. He noticed Kasumi and Katsuo diving down towards the other two Kusa nin, taking them by surprise. The genin he was fighting twisted around, tossing his ninjato to his right hand and swung again, this time falling into a decently complicated kata pattern.

Naruto pushed his two kunai forwards, parrying the swipes of the sword easily. When the genin came at him again the next time, Naruto threw one of the kunai at him, catching him off guard. The boy stumbled back for a moment, and Naruto used that time to make a seal unnoticeably.

The Kusa nin straightened up again and started twisting his ninjato around, making criss-crossing x like signs in the air. Each time Naruto sprang back, avoiding the blade, until he backed up against the trunk of the tree they were duelling in. The older boy's eyes flashed in triumph, and he dashed forwards to drive the blade home...only for it to pass through 'Naruto', sinking deep into the tree. The Bunshin dispelled, and the Grass ninja tried to turn around, only to pause as his ninjato prevented him from doing so. In the time that it took for him to finally free his blade, Naruto had already reappeared behind him. One strike later from the butt of his kunai, and the genin was out cold.

Naruto looked down and was relieved to see that Katsuo and Kasumi had already finished their fights. They left the three Kusa genin bound together with ninja wire at the bottom of the pit. It wouldn't be impossible to get out of, but Naruto wasn't a sadistic person who wanted to see a bunch of helpless genin get massacred by wild animals. Additionally, the pit was deep enough that most animals would not approach it, and just enough so that the genin would have a little difficulty getting out if they were low on chakra.

The scroll Katsuo had taken the opportunity of liberating from the knapsack suspended in mid air was in actuality a Heaven scroll, the scroll that matched up with their Earth scroll.

"So, does anyone actually know where the tower is?" Kasumi asked, scratching the side of her head. The rain had lightened somewhat, but what remained of it slithered through the forest floor in rivulets. The soil looked rather repulsive from above.

Katsuo looked at the sun. "Right now, it's late morning. We started from the eastern side of the forest and went straight forwards. Yori-san said that the tower was in the middle of the forest, so that means it's in that general direction." He pointed with his right index finger to the direction leading away from the sun.

"It shouldn't take that long if we hurry," Naruto said. "An hour, at the most."

"Well, there's no point to going fast," Kasumi replied. "Some teams might have set up a whole heap of traps near the interior in an attempt to catch a scroll. If we go fast, we might run straight into one of them."

Naruto shrugged back at her. "Whatever you want," he said. "Let's just get to the tower already."

**

* * *

**

Team Jiraiya had another close call as they approached the tower. Nearby, an Iwa team was fighting with Hiashi's team. A stray flying kunai almost gave their position away as Katsuo reflexively attempted to throw a senbon back. Fortunately, Kasumi stopped him in time. They reached the tower without any more difficulties.

Unfurling the two scrolls called Takuma-sensei to them, and he congratulated them before waving them on.

"I wonder if anyone else has arrived yet," Kasumi voiced her thoughts as they walked through a familiar looking corridor. At least, to Naruto it was.

"Chances are that another team _has_ already arrived," Naruto answered, thinking of the Jinchuuriki. "There are some pretty good people in this exam."

Naruto noticed a well hidden security camera as they walked into a waiting area of sorts. Just as Naruto had predicted, the Suna team was already there. Yori was in the room as well, talking to the Sand ninja, but as Naruto, Kasumi and Katsuo approached he waved a hand in greeting.

"Welcome to the tower," Yori called. "You're the second team to have arrived, after one day and eleven hours." He gestured for them to take a seat.

"Accommodations have been found for you," Yori continued. "They're just outside this hall, and to the right. There are separate adjoining rooms for all three teammates."

A door opened to reveal a dark haired chunin, who gestured to Yori. The man stood up and nodded to the two teams. "You must excuse me. Something important has been brought to my attention," he apologised. "I'll be back later. Feel free to leave as soon as you wish."

With that, he turned around and left, following the chunin who had opened the door.

The two teams stared at each other in an uneasy silence for a while, and Naruto took the opportunity to scrutinize his fellow competitors.

The only female in the team had white blonde longish hair that was pulled into two high pigtails. She wore a green sash around her waist, with a chokuto strapped to her back and held in place by the sash itself. Green eyes that matched the sash stared back at Naruto defiantly as soon as he looked her in the eye.

Looking away, his eyes settled on Satoru, the tallest member in the Suna team. He had short, cropped dark red hair that didn't obscure his face in any way and light blue eyes. However, Naruto noticed that the boy had a strange sort of silvery sheen to his eyes. He dismissed the thought soon after, although he promised himself he would look into it later.

The last member of the team was the Shukaku Jinchuuriki. The trademark black rings around his eyes made it obvious; although this time the Jinchuuriki had black hair. The moment Naruto cast his gaze over him, the boy flicked his dark blue eyes at him.

Their eyes only met for an instant, because at that moment the door opened again and Yori stepped out. He looked surprised to see both teams still in the room.

"Oh!" he exclaimed. "You're still here?"

Kasumi stood up, pulling Katsuo and Naruto with her. "We're leaving," she told Yori. He shrugged and smiled easily at her. "Very well," he replied. "Remember, your quarters are out the door and to the right."

**

* * *

**

Something about the other team felt..._off_ to Naruto. It was only after he had reached his room that he realised what it was. The team dynamic between the three Suna ninja was different to what he had seen with Gaara and his siblings before Naruto had decided to knock some sense into him.

Both the girl and the boy seemed...relaxed in the Jinchuuriki's presence. Naruto couldn't help but feel a little envious of him – both he and Gaara had suffered much psychological torment before finally earning acceptance.

Obviously the Ichibi container had found away to reassure his teammates, otherwise that calm atmosphere that existed between the three wouldn't exist.

Whatever it was, it didn't really matter to Naruto. His head slipped forwards onto his pillow as he sank into a deep slumber.

**

* * *

**

The second day passed by rather unexcitingly. No more teams had come in by then, so Naruto, Kasumi and Katsuo were stuck either having a staring match with the Sand nin or sitting in their rooms, talking. Currently, they were in Naruto's room, doing the latter.

"If there are too many people, the proctors will hold a preliminary tournament to eliminate some more people," Naruto was explaining to his teammates. "But there were only eleven teams starting at the beginning of the second exam, so it's unlikely that they will hold one. The maximum amount of teams competing in the final exam would be five."

"Then what happens if they don't hold a preliminary round?" Katsuo asked, idly spinning a senbon in his fingers.

"They'll skip right to the final tournament," Naruto answered. "The final tournament is basically a match off between the remaining competitors. Everyone plays until there is one final winner."

"So that means there's only one possible chunin out of all the participants?" Kasumi asked, sounding incredulous. Naruto quickly shook his head.

"No!" he replied. "That's not all. Everyone in the tournament can become a chunin, or vice versa. All of the daimyos watching select the competitors who show the most potential to become a chunin. After all, being a chunin isn't just about being strong. It's also about displaying leadership skills, and tactics."

"Then what's the point of the tournament?" Katsuo asked.

"That's to give the daimyos more time to watch and for us to show off more of our skills," Naruto replied. "Anyway, I guess the old man will explain it all later."

**

* * *

**

The coming of the third day brought the first Ino-Shika-Cho trio. They settled into a suite of rooms further down along the corridor. At the end of the fourth day, a Kumo team entered the tower. By then, tensions were starting to run high as the four teams stared each other down.

By the end of the fifth day, no one else had arrived. It looked like there were only four teams participating in the third exam. Most likely, there wouldn't be a preliminary round.

On the morning of the sixth day of their stay at the tower, Yori entered the corridor and called for all the teams to report to the grand hall.

"Hokage-sama would like to speak with all of you," he informed the four teams gathered in front of him.

**

* * *

**

**Author's Notes:** Yes, I know it's unoriginal. But I couldn't help it! Helpless little genin running around in the Forest of Death are just too cute to resist!

Next up is the final tournament! Questions, comments, reviews, constructive criticism, suggestions and corrections are welcomed.

-Dream Keys

Kage Bunshin: Shadow Clone

Ninjato: A Japanese style short sword, presumed to be often carried by ninja.

Kata: Choreographed patterns of movements usually practiced with a sword.

Bunshin: Clone

Chokuto: A straight sword that is usually single edged, but can be double edged.

Ichibi: One Tail


	14. Chapter 14

**Author's Notes:** Hello everyone! Thanks for the great response I've received from everyone! I'm back with a new chapter, hope you enjoy it. Once again, sorry about the delay...my excuse this time is about stupid computer game addictions.

A couple of people have been asking me: If Naruto gets with Kushina, wouldn't that be considered incest? My answer to this is: how is it incest? Naruto/Minato isn't even related to Kushina, is he?

You'll have to find out ;)

**

* * *

**

The room looked exactly the same as it did when Naruto had entered it last. The large grey tiles were dull as ever, with tiny spider web cracks fanning out occasionally. The huge stone statue of two arms in the ram seal was at the head of the room. The balconies on the two sides were the same.

Everyone was gathered in the centre of the hall. The Third Hokage was standing in front of them, hands clasped behind his back, and the proctors of every single exam so far gathered at his side.

"Welcome, everyone," Sarutobi began. "And congratulations on making it so far."

No one moved or said anything. There wasn't much to say, really.

"I will now tell you this: the final exam will be held exactly one month from now," Sarutobi continued. "This exam will be a one on one tournament – very shortly, I will ask each person to draw a number. The person whose number corresponds with yours shall be your opponent."

One of the Cloud nin raised their hands. "If it's a one on one tournament, doesn't that mean there will only be one winner?" he asked. "Does that mean only one person gets promoted to chunin?"

The Sandaime shook his head. "That is incorrect. Everyone participating in the final exam has the potential to become a chunin. The noblemen watching the tournament are looking for competitors who are smart, wily and truly have what it means to be a chunin. That means that even someone knocked out in the first round could become a chunin. Similarly, even the participant who wins the entire tournament has the chance to not become one. The reason to continue fighting is to show the watching noblemen more of your skills, and impress the watching crowd."

Someone snorted. "Why would we need to impress any of the spectators?"

Sarutobi regarded him with a stern stare. "To many of you, this Chunin Exam represents peace throughout the shinobi world; so many countries coming together at one place to compete in a series of tests. This is not so. In actuality, the Chunin Exams are merely a facade for thinly veiled war between all of the countries competing."

Murmurs arose as soon as the Hokage finished his sentence.

"Customers will go to the countries they believe have the best ninja. And how do they see which village has the best? Simple. The Chunin Exams. These so called 'spectators' are actually prospective customers. The strongest seeming shinobi country will be the one that receives most of the mission requests."

An unfamiliar looking man stepped forward. "Hokage-sama, may I?" he asked. Sarutobi dipped his head in acknowledgement.

"Very well," he said.

The man cleared his throat. "My name is Tesuto Shinji," he started. "I will be the proctor for the third exam."

Shinji clasped his hands behind his back as he took a few more steps forwards, towards the assembled genin. "I will start by saying that the final exam will be held one month from now, as Hokage-sama has already told you," he continued. "I will now ask you to take a single slip of paper from this box."

The box was held in front of the female Suna ninja, who picked the number three. Then, the Jinchuuriki drew eleven, while his other teammate drew eight. Next, the box was moved on to Team Jiraiya.

Kasumi went first and drew a one. Then it was Katsuo's turn. He drew a nine. Naruto let out a breath he had been holding quietly. Relief washed through him as he realised that neither of his teammates would be matched against any of the Suna nin.

Then he took a deep breath and plunged his hand into the container, and withdrew a piece of paper. He unfolded the slip, which revealed itself to be a six.

The Kumo team, which was standing next to Naruto's team, was next. The first boy picked out a two, which meant he would be fighting against Kasumi in the finals. The girl chose number twelve, and from the slightly fearful gaze she cast towards the black haired Sand ninja, Naruto deduced that she had realised that he was quite...powerful.

The last member of the Cloud team drew a seven, which matched him against the other male member of the Sand team.

The last team to have their turn at choosing was the Ino-Shika-Cho trio. Shikaku went first and drew a ten. That was the corresponding number to Katsuo's nine. Inoichi plucked out number five, which pitted him against Naruto. Naruto raised his eyebrows. It would be an interesting fight, to say the least.

Lastly, Chouza picked out number four. He would be matched against the female Suna member.

Shinji asked everyone to call out their numbers, and then recorded something on the clipboard he was holding. A few minutes later, he turned the clipboard around.

"The first match will be Kaori Kasumi versus Hibiyaki Goro. The second match will be between Midori and Akimichi Chouza. The third match is Yamanaka Inoichi and Namikaze Minato. The fourth match is between Kyokkou Toshi and Satoru. The fifth match is Yakushi Katsuo versus Nara Shikaku and the sixth match is between Kurome and Hibiyaki Hisako."

Naruto mentally catalogued all of the unfamiliar names into his mind, especially Kurome, who was the container for the Shukaku. He felt a slight bit of worry towards Katsuo, who would be fighting against Kurome if he won his first match. However, Naruto was unable to continue this train of thought as the proctor spoke again.

"This one month period is not a time to slack off training or to waste away. During this period of time, you are expected to gather information on your opponents' strengths and weaknesses, and devise strategies to defeat them. Also, this is also a time to improve your own abilities and make sure no spies attempt to do some reconnaissance."

**

* * *

**

Jiraiya was waiting for them as soon as they emerged from the Forest of Death – along with an armed escort this time, complete with an entire platoon of jounin – with congratulations written all over his face.

"So I hear you three managed to get a pass into the final exam!" he beamed as they emerged from the gates. "But for the next month, you can be sure that I'll be making you _very _busy!"

Kasumi's head perked up. "Oh, so you mean you'll actually be teaching us something useful?" she inquired. Jiraiya laughed.

"Of course!"

**

* * *

**

Jiraiya had stuck right to his words. Naruto had only been awake for half an hour before the white haired pervert had appeared in his apartment, beckoning for him to go to the training grounds.

The first part of the day was spent at the river, doing more chakra control exercises. Jiraiya's idea of 'fun' consisted of a shadow clone continuously throwing sharp metal projectiles at the three genin while he relaxed quietly under the shade of a tall tree.

When it was almost mid day, he called for them to stop and opened a storage scroll, revealing four plates of delicious smelling food.

After they were all devoured, Jiraiya focused some more chakra and made another Kage Bunshin. The three Jiraiyas went their separate ways and started towards Naruto, Katsuo and Kasumi.

"Alright," Jiraiya announced as he walked up to Naruto. "Now, I know this is a generally high class skill, but I believe you are ready for it."

Naruto looked up inquiringly. "What is it?" he asked.

"I am going to teach you sealing," the Sannin replied. "Sealing is a complex and dangerous art, but you seem to have a sharp eye and attention to detail enough for it. I'm only going to start you on the basics, but it may help in the future."

On the inside, Naruto was jumping for joy. It was unexpected that Jiraiya would teach him how to seal so early on, but it also meant that he could get a start on the Hiraishin sooner, without people getting on his case for knowing how to accomplish such an advanced sealing method without prior instruction.

The rest of the afternoon was actually quite boring – Jiraiya heaped upon him a couple of books, demanded that he read them within two days, and sat down with him and instructed him on a few basic seals.

Naruto had already learned this – Jiraiya had even given him the exact same books – but he decided that it couldn't hurt to learn them again; with 'Minato's' greater brainpower, surely he would understand the concepts of sealing even better!

At any rate, Jiraiya called the team's training to an end a few hours later, saying that tomorrow they would work on teamwork. Naruto bid a hearty farewell with Katsuo and Kasumi, before visiting the Memorial Stone, brushing his fingers lightly over Aiko's name.

**

* * *

**

Later that night, Naruto spent some time poring over the books Jiraiya had given him. As he had predicted, this 'body' did seem to receive knowledge easier than he had before.

Some of the depictions of some of the most complex seal arrays Naruto had ever seen greatly interested him – and he could easily see how some of the seals worked. He finished off two books within the night, and resolved to return them to Jiraiya on the next day.

Naruto yawned and dropped the books onto his coffee table. He'd think about it later. An evening chill breezed in through the window, making him rub his bare arms. He walked over to the window and shut it, before making his way to bed.

**

* * *

**

The next couple of weeks passed by in a blur for the Konoha team. Every day had Naruto, Katsuo and Kasumi pushed to their limits by Jiraiya by enduring hours after hours of stamina training, before engaging in short spars with themselves, and later Jiraiya himself. There would be a short period of rest before they were at it again, climbing trees and performing tricks above the water to strengthen chakra control. Quite soon, all three members of Team Jiraiya started bringing soldier pills to training sessions, probably something Jiraiya was trying to get them to do as well.

Katsuo and Kasumi mumbled obscene things about Jiraiya after each day. Naruto merely smiled, inwardly appreciating their teacher's concern towards his students' training and learning. When questioned by the other two about his conformist attitude towards training, Naruto simply told them he thanked the gods for his stamina.

By the end of two weeks, Jiraiya deemed the genin ready for another jutsu. However, instead of separating them and teaching them different jutsu alone, he kept them together.

"Today the jutsu I will be teaching you will be one very helpful to know if you ever go into battle against Kurome, the Suna genin," he informed them. Kasumi cocked her head to the side.

"Why especially him, Jiraiya-sensei?" she asked. "What's the point?"

"This is because that boy happens to be a Jinchuuriki," he replied. "A Jinchuuriki is a demon container. In Kurome's case, he holds the Ichibi no Shukaku within him."

Then Jiraiya frowned. "All demon containers, no matter where they grow up, always feel hatred and fear directed towards them. Most of them are unstable – who wouldn't be after leading a life like that? Kurome seems...more stable than others, considering his demon, but every container of the Sand demon has good control over their powers."

"So Kurome was the guy Minato was talking about when we ate at that restaurant," Katsuo recalled, pursing his lips thoughtfully. "But what has our new jutsu got to do with him?"

Jiraiya crossed his arms and sat down, patting the ground beside him to nonverbally communicate to the three genin. They all sat.

"My studies of the first Suna Jinchuuriki found that he too, was a container of the Shukaku. He seemed to rely on the abilities of the demon almost all the time. Some of the enhancements provided by the Ichibi include sand protecting the host from any harm, even harm inflicted by the host himself. The first Jinchuuriki also used sand as his primary offense and defines, not bothering to use any of the typical attack styles. Kurome is possibly the second Jinchuuriki of Shukaku, and thus could have been influenced by the demon to rely on his attacks. What I am trying to say is that if you destroy the demon's influence, then the Jinchuuriki will be left defenceless."

Naruto sat up from his reclining position on the grass. "But first, you have to get through the defences. That would require a lot of speed," he said, speaking from experience.

"Then what's the jutsu?" Katsuo asked, stupidly. "Unsealing the demon?"

Jiraiya's eyes bulged out. "What?! No!" he yelled, causing Katsuo to jump nervously. "Unsealing the demon would not only kill the container, but probably all of the spectators and everyone in a ten mile radius to boot!"

"Instead of unsealing it, you would have to seal it even more," Naruto put in. Realisation dawned on Katsuo. "Oh," he said, blushing a little. "My bad."

"But Minato said that you needed speed to even hope to get past the demon's defences," Kasumi protested. "The only person who has a chance of doing that is Minato! What would we do?"

"Speed isn't the only thing that can defeat the sand," Jiraiya told her. "Water can, too, to slow it down, or highly concentrated fire to turn it into glass."

"That makes sense, I guess," Kasumi replied. Naruto understood as well, and nearly smacked himself in the head for only mentioning speed. It had been the first thing that had come to mind, as he had never seen anything else employed to keep the sand at bay other than speed itself, which had been used by Lee and Sasuke.

"So anyway, the jutsu I'm going to teach you is called the Gogyō Fūin," Jiraiya said after the three took some time to digest the news. "It _is_ short range, so unfortunately you will have to get up close in order to make use of it."

Unseen, Naruto wryly twisted his lips as he remembered Orochimaru performing the same technique on him in order to stop him from using the Kyuubi. Words flowed out of his mouth before he could stop them.

"That's extremely harsh, Ero-sennin," Naruto objected. "If Kurome has an even numbered seal, the pain would be immense enough to totally take him out of it."

Jiraiya sent him a weird look. "How would you know that, Minato?" he asked. Naruto floundered for a bit before calming down and concentrating. "I read it in a book once," he lied.

Kasumi rolled her eyes. "That's probably true, sensei," she agreed with Naruto, unknowingly covering for him. "Minato's always got his head stuck in a book."

Jiraiya continued to cast strange looks Naruto's way, but acquiesced and accepted his excuse for now, instead focusing on teaching them the right chakra amounts to use the Five Elements Seal.

The rest of the afternoon was spent learning the technique. Despite its easy appearing state, it was actually quite difficult to master. It did not contain any seals, after all, which already made it immensely tricky.

**

* * *

**

The last few weeks saw many visitors to Konoha, from all over the place. Merchants from different villages in Fire Country, visitors from even Wind Country, and everywhere else. Konoha became even more crowded than usual extremely quickly.

Jiraiya advised Katsuo, Kasumi and Naruto to take it easy for the next few days leading up to the exams, and instead spend it observing their opponents and their strategies – exactly what Sarutobi had suggested.

Discretely, Naruto had even managed to spy upon Inoichi, who would be his first opponent. His style was similar to Ino's – he even used the same jutsu – but he did seem a hell of a lot stronger. Naruto had withdrawn moments from being discovered.

Naruto himself had had his fair share of surveillance being done. During a weekend while Naruto had been training on his own, he had felt the presence of one of the Kumo ninja. Smiling to himself, he had surreptitiously made a shadow clone before making it Henge into a massive zanbatō. Upon realising that Naruto had actually caught onto the genin's spying, he quickly left, leaving Naruto to his own devices.

**

* * *

**

The last day before the tournament was spent at Katsuo's house, generally relaxing and having fun, before talking a little of tactics. In the afternoon, the three left the Yakushi estate and visited a shinobi weapons shop. They stocked up on kunai, shuriken, soldier pills, and in Katsuo's case, senbon. Kasumi purchased a Fūma shuriken, much to Naruto and Katsuo's surprise.

"What are you going to do with that?" Katsuo asked, clearly bemused by Kasumi's choice of weapons. Kasumi shrugged. "It never hurts to come unprepared," she sniffed at him, before paying the store owner and leaving the shop.

Outside, the Ino-Shika-Cho trio were talking with who was presumably their teacher. Inoichi in particular sent Naruto a strange sort of stare, and it unnerved Naruto enough for him to not notice their teacher until the very end.

"Kaka-?" he started, but cut himself off quickly, hastily whipping around and stepping into line with his teammates again. Sure, he had looked like Kakashi, but Naruto's old teacher couldn't have possibly have even been five years old yet.

"What was that?" Kasumi asked curiously, as they started to walk towards Kasumi's house. Naruto shook his head negatively. "Don't worry," he said. "I just thought it was someone I knew."

"...so that's who you're matched against first, Inoichi?" the smooth, male voice asked from metres behind them.

"He is, Sakumo-sensei," Inoichi affirmed. Naruto felt a jolt at the name. Sakumo...! That was Kakashi's father!

Naruto was so preoccupied by his thoughts that he didn't even notice it until it was too late. He bumped into someone, losing his balance and almost falling. Katsuo caught him at the last moment.

"Oh...! Sorry!" a woman exclaimed. "Are you alright?"

The voice belonged to a older woman, possibly in her late forties. She was walking with another woman. Once Naruto reassured her he was fine, she flashed him a quick, motherly smile before walking off with her friend.

"...anyway did you hear about that poor, poor country? Decimated just like that, not even a just...!"

Her voice died away as she and her friend and Team Jiraiya moved apart. They reached Kasumi's home in a few minutes and dropped her off.

"Don't forget to come on time!" Naruto smiled, waving at her. Like he was one to talk, considering his first chunin exam...

Kasumi scoffed. "You wish," she said arrogantly, before punching him lightly and wheeling around, disappearing through the front door.

Naruto saw Katsuo home next, despite the other's protests. "You need your beauty sleep," Naruto told him as way of explanation. Katsuo raised his eyebrows disbelievingly, but didn't bother arguing back.

"See you tomorrow," he told Naruto as they reached Katsuo's place of residence. Naruto smiled back at him. "See you. And good luck," he replied. Katsuo went in as Naruto turned around and left for home, a smile on his face.

**

* * *

**

**Author's Notes:** ...Yes, for those of you who caught on, that _does_ mean something will get introduced soon. After the Chunin Exams though ;)

Once again, hope you enjoyed this chapter! Questions, comments, reviews, constructive criticism, suggestions and corrections are welcomed.

Oh, and non generic reviews unlike 'cool', 'awesome' and 'great work' are even more appreciated. Not to say that all those ones aren't nice and all but...hey I think you get what I mean :)

-Dream Keys

Kage Bunshin: Shadow Clone

Hiraishin: Flying Thunder God

Jinchuuriki: Demon Host, literally meaning Power of Human Sacrifice

Ichibi no Shukaku: One Tailed Shukaku

Ichibi: One Tail

Gogyō Fūin: Five Elements Seal

Kyuubi: Nine Tails

Henge: Transform

Zanbatō: Literally meaning 'horse slaying sword', (I know, interesting, isn't it? You learn something new every day) it is a really big ass blade. Think Seven Swordsmen of the Mist.

Seven Swordsmen of the Mist: An organisation of seven blade wielding shinobi who are/were affiliated with Kirigakure.

Fūma shuriken: Literally meaning 'Demon Wind Shuriken', it is a large, four bladed shuriken.


	15. Chapter 15

**Author's Notes:** Hey guys, I'm back with next instalment of Legacy Rebirth! Finally I manage to get one out on time.

One anonymous reviewer pointed out that Naruto didn't really seem to miss his friends or even think about his past life too much. My response is – thank you for pointing that out, I've been neglecting the more 'emotional' part of Naruto's mind in favour of the big picture. As I've said before, I'm an amateur writer, and I try to do what I can. Writing that kind of stuff isn't my forte, but I'll try to please.

Congratulations to everyone who guessed that Kushina was an incoming character – you're right, and it's pretty much an open secret (oxymorons, huh) now. My estimate is that she will appear in the next few chapters or so.

Oh and to **Jolteonforever**, how on earth is Inoichi scary?!

Anyway onto the chapter. Have fun and enjoy reading!

**

* * *

**

It was a bright and sunny morning, despite the season. The morning breeze was a little fiercer than would be welcomed, but winter did have to have its say so.

The crowd of spectators was just as awe inspiring and rowdy as Naruto had expected. Casting his eyes up as he entered the arena, he spotted the seats where Sakura and Ino had sat (or would sit in the future) before greeting his teammates.

It appeared that they had arrived only a few minutes before him. All three of them, however, were early and so were waiting on the other participants of the exam.

The sun wasn't actually as warming as Naruto had hoped it would be. However, logic persuaded him to think otherwise, imagining all the future battles he would have to fight in this weather. For a second Naruto argued back, before feeling slightly disturbed that he was talking to himself.

"Nervous, Kasumi?" Katsuo asked, flexing his fingers and cracking his knuckles in the process. Kasumi winced in disgust. "I'm fine," she told him as the Kumo genin arrived. Now the only team they were waiting on were the other Konoha team.

"You're up first," Katsuo persisted, until both Naruto and Kasumi whacked him.

"Stop poking fun at her," Naruto commanded. Katsuo sighed in surrender.

Inoichi, Shikaku and Chouza arrived with their sensei. Sakumo gave them a brief wave before utilizing the Konoha Shunshin and disappearing into the stands somewhere.

"Look!" Naruto hissed to Kasumi and Katsuo, pointing upwards. At the very top of the arena, sitting on large, ornamental chairs were Hokage, Raikage and Kazekage. Towards the Kazekage in particular, Naruto felt a vague sense of remembrance – he had heard Sakura talking about the Third Kazekage used as a human puppet for Sasori from the Akatsuki.

Little could be seen of the leader of the Sand village because of his obscuring cloth over the bottom half of his face, but even from the bottom of the arena Naruto could see that the Kazekage was a very tall man.

In contrast, the Raikage was a short, dark skinned man whose feet just barely touched the ground from his perch in the tall throne like chair. His bright yellow Kage hat clashed mightily in contrast to his dark hair and skin, but he still managed to produce an aura of danger.

The Hokage sat between the two other leaders, looking down at the chunin hopefuls in the middle. Sarutobi's face was not as gaunt and drawn as it had been when he was older, and he bore a happy expression on his face as he chatted animatedly with the other two Kages.

Seeing the last team appear, Shinji, who was the proctor for the third exam, stepped forwards. A hidden microphone – or was it a jutsu? – projected his voice out towards the crowd.

"Everyone, welcome to the final tournament of the Chunin Selection Exams. The matches will begin shortly." To the competitors, Shinji said, "The rules of this exam are – anything is allowed. If it looks like someone will definitely lose, I will step in and stop the match. You are obligated to stop as soon as I come in. Would everyone except for Kaori Kasumi and Hibiyaki Goro please vacate the arena and go to the competitors' box?"

Then, once again, he projected his voice towards the spectators. "The first match of the first round is about to begin!" Shinji announced. "The first match is between Kaori Kasumi and Hibiyaki Goro. Would the two competitors please step forwards?"

Naruto followed the other teams towards the boxes upstairs, but before he left the arena, he grabbed Kasumi's shoulder. "Good luck!" he said, before leaving. Kasumi smiled back reassuringly.

Nearby, Katsuo also bid her luck. "Kick that Cloud guy's ass back to the mountain he came from," he told her. Kasumi rolled her eyes. "Please shut up," she replied, before turning back to her opponent.

Despite her outward calm, on the inside Kasumi was extremely nervous. This was the first time she had ever had to fight another shinobi in a real combat situation. Her heartbeat almost doubled as Goro shifted a bit, raising his arms in a taijutsu stance.

"Are the two competitors ready?" Shinji asked from between the two. Goro took a deep breath and nodded to the proctor.

"Yes," Kasumi affirmed, hoping that her voice didn't betray her anxiety. Shinji nodded and chopped his hand down in a slicing motion. "Begin!" he called.

Kasumi started by jumping away from Goro, already alert and wary for any sudden move that he might make. Goro drew a kunai with his right hand, facing it down parallel to the ground. It was quiet for a moment or two before he charged forwards, with the kunai still in his hand.

Kasumi's eyes widened as the Kumo ninja rushed forwards, barely able to get a kunai of her own out in time. She parried his attack and jumped back again, wondering why her hand hurt so much from just a simple block.

She wasn't given enough time to think as Goro rushed forwards again. This time she was ready for the attack, and managed to sweep the genin's feet from under him as their kunai connected. There was a slight hissing noise and a kunai fell.

Kasumi grunted as her kunai fell from her spasming and nerveless hand. From beneath her, the Cloud nin had the audacity to chuckle. "That's what you get for touching metal to metal," he laughed, before springing to his feet again. Kasumi scowled. She had been caught off guard, and now her right hand was useless to her.

Kasumi cursed the fact that she had shown more aptitude for Earth style jutsu; although Jiraiya hadn't formally tested them with the chakra paper, he _had_ told the three of them what their affinity probably would be.

More laboriously than usual, Kasumi went through a series of hand seals. "Bunshin no Jutsu," she breathed as the intangible clone flickered into reality. In her mind, Kasumi was hoping that Goro would be slightly unsteady from her last attack, and therefore unable to pick out which one was the real deal.

With her left hand, Kasumi took out a handful of shuriken while directing her clone to circle around Goro. She realised that if she actually flung the shuriken at him, Goro would realise that she was the real one, and would simply ignore the clone, making her waste her chakra. Kasumi ground her teeth in frustration. How could she do this...? If only she could use the Kage Bunshin jutsu with the ease that Minato did...

A sudden idea sprang into her head and Kasumi smiled inwardly. If she couldn't use the shuriken by throwing them...then she could use them by not throwing them!

Goro was watching her attentively from his position in the middle of the arena. Slowly he turned his head this way and that. It looked like he still couldn't tell the difference between her and her clone. Kasumi smirked and flung her hand forwards, as if to let the shuriken go. At the last moment, she snatched her hand back. Goro smiled in triumph and turned his back to her.

"Now I know which one you are," he smiled, and drew another kunai. A spark of electricity danced on its tip. So that was how he had disabled her hand. He was channelling lightning natured chakra through the blade. As he made his way towards Kasumi's clone, Kasumi herself rushed towards him, careful not to alert him to her rapidly approaching presence. She finally let go of the shuriken. One of them flew straight, knocking Goro's kunai out of his grasp. His empty hand passed through the Bunshin easily. It seemed that his attack didn't work without a conductor to channel it through.

Eyes widening in surprise, Goro twisted around as fast as he could to face Kasumi. It was a bad move. The other three shuriken embedded themselves in various parts of his torso. He collapsed to his knees, coughing.

Kasumi looked at her right hand, which was now only shaking slightly. She withdrew a kunai from her holster with the hand and held it at Goro's throat. "Forfeit," she told him. Goro glared back up at her.

The _swoosh_ of clothes ruffling as they moved through air alerted Kasumi to the proctor's presence. "The first match is concluded," Shinji announced. "Winner – Kaori Kasumi." The crowd rapidly dissolved into cheers.

The white coat wearing medics quickly arrived onto the scene, loading Goro into a stretcher. One young looking medic walked up to her.

"Excuse me, would you like that fixed for you?" he asked politely. Kasumi looked confused for a second. "Wha-?" she asked, before realising he meant her hand. "Oh. Yes please."

The medic-nin placed a glowing green hand over hers for a moment. A minute later, he released his jutsu and inspected her hand. "There we go," he declared. "It should be good to go now."

Kasumi flashed him a grateful smile and quickly leaped up the stairs to the competitors' box. At the top, she was greeted by her two jubilant teammates.

"Well done!" Katsuo laughed, slinging his arm across her shoulders. Naruto grinned at her. "You finished him off pretty quickly," he told her. "And the crowd loves you. Go take a look for yourself."

Kasumi walked out onto the balcony and...did her jaw just drop? All of the spectators were cheering, lost in the frenzy of shouting and approval.

**

* * *

**

Up at the Kages' seats, the three leaders were talking to each other.

"That was quite a match, wasn't it, Raikage-sama?" the Hokage asked. He was pleased with how well Kasumi had performed. The Raikage nodded his head.

"Yes, your genin did quite well despite her handicap, Hokage-sama," the Raikage nodded in approval. "However, Goro was not prepared enough to fight her. He did not take any pains to see what she was up to, and he let her surprise him with his confidence in the clone."

"Nevertheless, the charged kunai that the boy wielded was quite impressive for a genin," the Sandaime Kazekage interjected. "He must have quite a good grasp over chakra control."

**

* * *

**

Once the cheering had abated somewhat, Shinji stepped forwards again from his position in the shade of the tall arena walls. "The second match is about to begin!" he called. "The second match is between Midori and Akimichi Chouza. Could the aforementioned genin please come down to the arena?"

**

* * *

**

"Your genin is good," Sakumo commented to his younger fellow jounin instructor. "She made up a strategy moments after being attacked like that and analysed the situation extremely well. You've taught well, Jiraiya-kun. Maybe you should think about teaching more often!"

Jiraiya laughed a bit. "Well, only one of them has actually fought yet, Sakumo-san. And I'm sure your genin are extremely competent as well, being taught by the White Fang and all."

Sakumo chortled. "Jiraiya, you give me too much credit," he said, smiling.

**

* * *

**

The chokuto slid out of its sheath and made a dull _thud_ as it whacked the hard ground. Midori tossed it from one hand to the other, reversing its backhand grip to a forehand. "I'm ready now," she said, smirking. Chouza hefted his bō staff, pointing it forwards towards Midori.

The blonde haired girl sneered. "You won't defeat me with that," she drawled, swinging her double edged sword from side to side. "This cuts, and it cuts real deep."

Chouza rolled his eyes, but didn't say anything further. Midori laughed at him. "What's the problem? Can't you speak, fatty?" she taunted.

Chouza stilled. Then, he slowly turned towards the green eyed girl, flames in his eyes. "I'M NOT FAT, YOU FREAK!" he yelled. "I'M JUST BIG BONED! CAN'T YOU PEOPLE JUST RESPECT THAT?!"

There was silence in the entire stadium. A stray piece of tumbleweed whistled past. Midori looked rather taken aback by Chouza's outburst.

Shinji cleared his throat. "Ahem. The second match shall start as both opponents are ready. Begin!" he called, jumping back to safety.

Midori immediately lashed out with her blade. Chouza was quick to respond despite his bulk, and pushed the wooden staff in front of him in order to block the chokuto. Midori smirked. "Bad choice!" she called, intent on breaking the wood with her sword.

The chokuto slapped harmlessly against the bō.

"What?" Midori blinked, jumping backwards to gain some distance between her and Chouza. "But that's..."

Chouza smiled at her. "Konoha's finest wood," he said, patting the staff. "Really quite hard, and strengthened with chakra. Even with your cutting edge with your wind affinity, my staff can weather it."

Midori scowled. Chouza stuck his bō staff into the ground and proceeded to run through a seal sequence. "Bubun Baika no Jutsu!" he called, grabbing his staff again.

Chouza's arms lengthened and expanded, and along with it came the bō, which became nearly ten times its original size. Then he proceeded to whack away with glee, only barely missing Midori each time. The slender kunoichi was scowling extremely hard. When it appeared she could take it no longer, Midori leaped off the ground with a chakra powered jump, twisting in the air.

"Let's see you block this!" she yelled. "Fūton: Daitoppa!"

Huge gusts of wind exploded from nowhere, all directed at Chouza. Some of the trees near the edge of the arena were completely decimated. Chouza's eyes widened in surprise as the wind cut at his clothes and exposed skin. He quickly formed a few seals. "Doton: Doryūheki!" he countered. Mud spewed from his mouth and coalesced on all sides before hardening.

Chouza sighed in relief as he stared at his scratched clothes worriedly. If that girl had any more tricks like that up her sleeve...

"Gotcha!" Midori yelled as she plummeted from the sky. The earth wall around Chouza had given him nowhere to escape...except upwards, where Midori was waiting. Once more brandishing her chokuto, she threw it as hard as she could towards Chouza.

Chouza would have lifted his bō to counter the flying sword, but unfortunately there was no room for him to do so. He took the next available option, and jumped upwards, just enough to clear the wall of his jutsu. The chokuto brushed past him, plunging into the ground where Chouza had been a second ago.

He was about to jump down to the ground again when Midori crashed into him. Chouza cursed himself for turning his back to her.

Midori pinned him to the ground, and raised her right hand to his eye level. "Kaze no Yaiba," she snarled, before plunging it into his stomach.

**

* * *

**

"Such a ruthless fighter you have there, Kazekage-sama," Sarutobi commented quietly, rather taken aback with the genin's ferocity. At least she hadn't aimed for the heart...then it would have been too late for anyone to save the poor boy, even for Tsunade herself.

"It's not something I encourage," the Kazekage replied. "But unfortunately, the shinobi word seems to cultivate it aplenty."

"What was that last technique she used?" the Raikage inquired. "I didn't see any weapon that she used at all."

"That was the Kaze no Yaiba technique," the Kazekage answered. "It does not require a weapon to use it."

**

* * *

**

"Winner – Midori," Shinji announced. The onlookers once again cheered, although it was substantially less than it had been before – lusting for excitement they may be, but they were not bloodthirsty monsters. None of them enjoyed seeing blood being shed in such a fashion.

The medics entered the field again and carefully hoisted Chouza onto the stretcher. One of them administered immediate healing, in order to staunch the blood loss. At Shinji's nod, they took Chouza away to the hospital.

"The third match will be Yamanaka Inoichi versus Namikaze Minato."

**

* * *

**

Naruto looked over to where Inoichi was standing. His hands were fists at his sides, and he was trembling in anger. Next to him, Shikaku had a hand on his shoulder and was talking to him.

Naruto sighed. Inoichi was quite annoyed, and it was likely he would take it out on Naruto in their match. Inoichi finally broke away and headed down the stairs. Not wanting to follow him, – or be anywhere alone with Inoichi while he was angry for his friend – Naruto jumped over the railing and used his chakra control to walk down the side of the arena wall.

This evoked gasps from the crowd as they started talking amongst themselves. From above, Katsuo rolled his eyes at his friend's antics. "Have fun, Minato!" he yelled down to him.

Inoichi and Naruto both reached the ground at the same time, despite Inoichi having to walk longer. They both met in the middle. Shinji looked at both of them. "Begin!" he called.

Naruto leaped backwards, sizing up his opponent warily. Inoichi was a tall man, and definitely had a few years over him. Not to mention he had been trained by the White Fang...!

Inoichi was a blur of movement as he torpedoed towards him. Naruto snatched a kunai out of his holster and parried Inoichi's sideways slash with relative ease. They continued this way for a few more moments, both swiping at each other with the finesse and skill of a finely tuned instrument.

Inoichi was the one who backed away first, ducking under Naruto's backhanded cut and back flipping away. He let out a breath of air, and inspected the small rip in his red vest. Holstering his kunai, Inoichi twisted his hands around into a seal.

"Shinranshin no Jutsu!" he called.

Naruto, who hadn't been ready for it, gasped and sank to his knees as his right arm began twitching of its own accord, trying to cut himself with his own kunai.

Grunting with exertion, Naruto slapped his other hand over his arm, forcing it down. Then, to his own horror, his left arm stopped its intervention and started creeping towards his neck.

Inoichi watched in grim satisfaction. Naruto might have been a skilled genin for his age, but he couldn't match up with Inoichi's own experience. He strode calmly towards him.

"Give up," he ordered. "Or you'll strangle yourself to death. I have no wish to have a fellow Leaf shinobi's death on my conscience."

As quick as lightning, Naruto's foot snaked out and took Inoichi's feet out from under him. Reflexively, he fell onto his arms and did a backwards somersault. When he looked up again, Naruto had stood up as well, standing with his weight well distributed between his two legs.

"Any Yamanaka mind technique can be resisted with sheer mental willpower," Naruto retorted. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Five clones sprang to life, each standing next to one another so that they made an arc. Every one of them clapped their palms together. "Fūton: Reppūshō!"

Five concentrated blasts of wind sliced towards Inoichi, who simply jumped into the air to avoid the violent wind jutsu.

A fist lashed out of nowhere and caught Inoichi on the chin, sending him rocketing upwards once more. "What-? How?!" he exclaimed, flying through the air. Naruto, who was right next to him, used Inoichi's surprise as an opportunity to throw his leg into Inoichi's midsection.

The blonde pony tailed boy flew back down to earth. A few metres from impact, Inoichi noticed the spikes of earth jutting out from the earth, and some of the clones with their palms to the ground, powering the jutsu.

Inoichi took a deep breath and twisted upright, coating his feet and hands with chakra. He narrowed his eyes and dropped between two of the bristling spikes, hands lashing out and catching onto their smooth surface while his feet touched down onto the ground. Within moments of landing, he was airborne again, taking care not to meet with Naruto again.

At the edge of the jutsu field, he slammed a kunai into the head of one of the Narutos powering the spikes. He dissipated in a cloud of smoke, indicating that it was actually a clone.

Once the first Naruto disappeared, the rest of them stood up again. The hardened spikes retreated into the ground.

The Naruto that was in the air landed on the ground again, drawing a kunai in the process. Inoichi smiled, and made a seal. "Boom," he called, as the ground beneath Naruto exploded.

In his surprise, Naruto leaped forwards. The ground that was littered with mines continued to explode – until he was face to face with Inoichi. Inoichi smiled.

"Shintenshin no Jutsu!"

**

* * *

**

"Where am I?" Inoichi demanded, tossing his head back and forth as he gazed down the dank tunnel that spread both ways. "Why can't I control this body?"

Naruto stepped out from the shadows. "That really wasn't a good idea," he mumbled, sounding strained. Inoichi knitted his eyebrows together, staring him down. "I should have control by now!" he shouted.

Naruto shrugged. "I guess it has something to do with Minato," he muttered. The yellow haired man appeared behind Naruto, waving cheerfully at Inoichi. "Hello," he smiled.

Inoichi flicked his eyes between the two again and again. "H-how can there b-be two of you?" he stuttered.

**

* * *

**

"What's happening?" Kasumi hissed to Katsuo, who was watching the two motionless shinobi in tthe arena. Around the whole stadium, mutters had started to arise. Katsuo shrugged, looking apprehensive. "I don't know," he muttered back. "I hope Minato's okay."

**

* * *

**

Naruto shook himself out of his unconsciousness and snapped back to reality, punching a still recovering Inoichi in the face. Inoichi flew back, not landing on his feet, but rather falling on his back. He quickly scrambled to his feet again, about to attack Naruto again when he felt a kunai being pressed to his neck. A quick glance around him showed that the rest of Naruto's clones were surrounding him with various weapons pointed his way.

Inoichi moved his hands, trying for a quick Kawarimi, but the clones sensed this and grabbed his arms, pulling them apart. Inoichi's shoulders slumped.

"Proctor, I forfeit," he called in defeat. Naruto dipped his head and dispelled his clones, while Inoichi straightened up. "Good match," he said to Naruto, holding out his hand. Naruto flashed his teeth at this sign of sportsmanship, and clasped it, giving it a firm shake. "To you too," he replied, smiling.

"Winner – Namikaze Minato!" Shinji announced.

The medics entered the arena, and gave both boys a once over before healing any minor scratches or bruises they had accumulated. Within minutes, Naruto and Inoichi were walking together back up the stairs to the competitors' box, listening to the audience's thunderous applause.

From below, they could still hear the proctor's voice: "Fourth match, Kyokkou Toshi versus Satoru!"

**

* * *

**

**Author's Notes:** Whew. Lots of researching being done to find out the names of all these jutsu, and THEN remember how they were used – hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Damn it, I just keep making more and more OCs. With any luck they don't seem too far fetched. Were the fight scenes alright? Any improvement I could make? All of these are welcome!

-Dream Keys

Konoha Shunshin: Leaf Body Flicker

Raikage: Lightning Shadow (Leader of Kumogakure)

Kazekage: Wind Shadow (Leader of Sunagakure)

Kage: Shadow (Leader of a shinobi village)

Bunshin (no Jutsu): Clone (Technique)

Kage Bunshin (no Jutsu): Shadow Clone (Technique)

Bō staff: A long staff of hard wood.

Bubun Baika no Jutsu: Partial Multi-Size Technique

Fūton: Daitoppa: Wind Release: Great Breakthrough

Doton: Doryūheki: Earth Release: Earth Style Wall

Kaze no Yaiba: Wind Sword (Poor Hayate)

Shinranshin no Jutsu: Mind Body Disturbance Technique

Fūton: Reppūshō: Wind Release: Violent Wind Palm

Shintenshin no Jutsu: Mind Body Switch Technique

Kawarimi: Substitution


	16. Chapter 16

**Author's Notes:** Okay, I'm back! Typical that after a quick update I make a slow one. lol.

You know what I just realised? I went through THREE matches in the last chapter, out of a total of ELEVEN. That's not even the first round! No...that's HALF of the first round – that's even worse o_o'. Oh boy, looks like this exam's going to last a while..._(shivers)_

**

* * *

**

Naruto was watching this match keenly, curious as to the skill level of the Sand team. As soon as the proctor, Shinji, announced the fourth match, Satoru had left the waiting area with a Shunshin, disappearing and then reappearing in the arena below. Kyokkou Toshi, on the other hand, took his time, leaving through the back exit and dawdling the whole way down the stairs, raising no small amount of ire from the onlookers.

When Toshi finally reached the arena, Satoru was standing with his arms crossed across his chest, looking bored. "Took you long enough," he muttered under his breath.

Shinji merely looked at the two combatants before stepping back. "Fourth match, begin!" he called.

Toshi immediately drew a kunai, holding it in a reverse grip in his right hand while staring at Satoru warily. On the other hand, Satoru stood completely still, in an open, relaxed stance. He made no move to arm himself.

Toshi hesitated. "Well?" he demanded. "Aren't you going to fight?"

Satoru smirked at him, but didn't answer. Then, he uncrossed his arms, allowing them to dangle at his sides. The Cloud genin narrowed his eyes for a second before rushing forward recklessly, slashing Satoru in two.

There was a small poof of smoke, revealing a log that had been sliced neatly in half.

"Kawarimi," Toshi snarled, before being lifted in the air by a foot to the stomach. He landed in a tight crouch, a few metres away from Satoru. The red haired Suna ninja simply pulled up his long sleeves and formed a Bird seal.

"Shingan no Jutsu."

Nothing happened. Toshi snorted. "That's pathetic," he declared, before making hand seals of his own. However, before he finished Toshi was interrupted by Satoru, announcing the name of the exact same jutsu he had been about to use.

"Raiton: Shuuraiyari," Satoru said, and Toshi watched as lightning coalesced into the distinct form of a spear.

**

* * *

**

Up in the stands, Naruto watched with more than a little confusion as he obvserved the Sand ninja shove his hands into his pockets, while Toshi yelled and leaped to the side.

"What the hell?" Kasumi complained, pointing down at the arena. "What's going on? All that guy's doing is standing around!"

"Genjutsu," Katsuo supplied. Naruto nodded his head in understanding. "So that was what that apparently 'useless' technique was earlier," he noted.

"Either way, the match is going to end soon," Katsuo replied. "That Kumo guy's no match for Satoru. He had him pinned from the start."

From across the box, Naruto saw the other remaining Cloud ninja glare at the three of them. He briefly entertained the thought of waving cheerfully at her, but decided against it. It wasn't really necessary to antagonise the kunoichi any further.

Down in the arena, Satoru was watching rather lazily as Toshi ran rings around him, dodging 'projectiles' or 'jutsu' from Satoru himself. After another minute, he decided that the spectators had been sufficiently entertained, and concentrated for a moment.

Toshi stopped running and dropped his arms onto his knees, panting, and eyeing what he thought was Satoru.

The Sand shinobi finally reached Toshi, and snaked out an arm around the other boy's neck, holding it with a vice like grip. A simple twist would be all it took to finish off the Kumo genin.

The hand that was currently free made a seal, before clasping its other counterpart firmly. "Kai."

Toshi jerked instinctively as the genjutsu melted away. "Wha-?!" he choked out, before Satoru tightened his hold again.

The crowd was completely silent. Everyone wanted to see how this would play out.

"Surrender!" Satoru ordered. Toshi struggled, uselessly. The Sand boy scowled and tightened his hold. The heel of his palm dug into Toshi's windpipe. The boy choked. "I said, surrender!"

Shinji stepped forwards, and looked like he was about to stop the match. He sent a hesitant look up to the Kage stand, or more specifically, to the Hokage. Sarutobi nodded back down to him. In the seat next to him, the Raikage was leaning forward, eyebrows drawn together.

Toshi dragged his eyes around the stadium. His vision was fast becoming blurry and dark as tears sprang up in his eyes. Looking up, he saw the frantic form of his teammate. It was too far to hear what she was screaming at him...

The hold tightened again. "Last chance," Satoru spat.

Shinji stepped forward again. "This ma-"

"NO!" Toshi shouted hoarsely from his position. He tried once more to reach up and...

_Snap._

Satoru stepped back and released his arms, standing up again. "This match is over," he said, imitating the proctor. Then he looked down again, green eyes widening in surprise.

A log stared back up at him, without any life in it. A crude smiley face was etched onto its surface, a blank grin.

Then Satoru cast his gaze over to the proctor, who was leaning over the unconscious form of Toshi. His eyes narrowed in understanding. 'I see,' he thought. 'First the proctor used Kawarimi to replace himself with the Kumo nin...and then he used it again to escape. He's fast.'

"I told you that the match was over," Shinji said disapprovingly. Then, he looked to the spectators. "Fourth match's winner – Satoru."

After a few silent seconds, the applause started. Satoru said nothing, but made the seal for Shunshin no Jutsu and disappeared into the competitors' box. He rejoined his teammates there, earning a nod from Kurome and a small smirk from Midori.

"Nice work," she muttered to him, before leaning over the railing with the intent to hear the next match being called.

"Geez, how heartless," Kasumi mumbled, watching the Sand team interact with each other. Neither Naruto nor Katsuo replied to this.

"Fifth match; Yakushi Katsuo versus Nara Shikaku!"

**

* * *

**

"It's a relief that my genin did not die there," the Raikage drawled. The Kazekage shifted in his seat a little from the pointed look in his direction. "Yes, it is," he replied, giving the vaguest answer he could.

In between the two Kages, Sarutobi sighed. Hopefully no bitter relations would come about from this...after all, the genin in question had not died...but on the other hand, he would have if not for Shinji's interruption. Sighing again, the Third Hokage settled himself in his seat, watching the two Konoha genin enter the arena. Life as a Kage, playing with politics and paperwork all the time was such a bore.

**

* * *

**

"If both contestants are ready...then begin!"

Katsuo hopped back a few steps, his hand already digging in his weapons pouch for a handful of senbon. He watched the older boy's reaction carefully.

'I've heard of the Nara clan,' Katsuo thought to himself. 'All of them are apparently geniuses. That rules out genjutsu, at least.'

Shikaku covered his mouth with a hand as he yawned quite audibly. "How troublesome," he mumbled, bringing his hand down. At this, the younger, brown haired genin raised his eyebrows, before hurling three of the four senbon in his hand. A scant moment later, Katsuo released the last one.

Shikaku took out a kunai, deflecting the three senbon easily. But as he did so, the bright sunlight glared off the brightly polished surfaces, blinding him momentarily. The fourth senbon hurtled out of nowhere and implanted itself in Shikaku's upper arm.

Wincing, the boy wrenched it out and tossed it to the side. He then placed his hands in the rat seal, pointing directly at Katsuo. "Kagemane no Jutsu."

Shikaku's shadow twisted and extended itself, reaching for Katsuo. Katsuo's eyes widened, and he jumped away at the last minute. After going backwards a fair distance, the shadow stopped, squirmed on the ground, and retreated back towards the older Leaf ninja.

Katsuo breathed out a sigh of relief, and used the edge of his sandal to scrape the place where Shikaku's technique had stopped. It seemed that the jutsu itself could not be sustained for a very long time, and nor could it go very far. 'It also requires a seal...now if I could...'

Shikaku sighed as the jutsu failed – Katsuo wasn't an idiot, and he had already found a weakness in the Shadow Imitation technique. Troublesome...now he would have to spend more time trying to defeat the other boy.

He was brought out of his reverie forcefully by a clenched fist speeding for his head. Ducking, Shikaku grabbed Katsuo's arm and threw him over his shoulder. Katsuo landed lightly, just in front of him. Shikaku lifted his arm and observed a small, shallow cut on his forearm. "Now where did that come from?" he pondered idly, staring at Katsuo. "Oh? A bastardised version of the chakra scalpel? How interesting."

Katsuo lashed out again, hands blazing blue with chakra concentration. Shikaku blocked these blows by slapping his open palm against Katsuo's forearms each time. After a few of such hits, Shikaku jumped back, giving both boys a breather.

'I can't get a clean shot at him,' Katsuo thought to himself, behind the mark again.

"Kagemane no Jutsu!" Shikaku called again. From behind the carefully drawn line, Katsuo smiled. Shikaku was standing in the exact same position in the arena as he had been earlier, and he wasn't in the shade of the arena's walls, which meant that he couldn't use the shadows there to further enhance his jutsu.

The shadow shuddered to a stop at the line, just as Katsuo thought. "A bluff?" he muttered to himself. "Why would he need to do..."

Realisation dawned on him and Katsuo pushed chakra as fast as he could towards his feet, springing into the air moments before the shadow split into hundreds of tiny tendrils, snaking up towards him at a rapid rate.

"Kage Nui no Jutsu." Shikaku smirked as he shifted his hands into the bird seal. In a panic, Katsuo flung senbon at the writhing shadows beneath him, trying to get rid of the things. They passed right through.

"My shadow is intangible!" Shikaku called up to him as Katsuo started to descend. "That is, until it touches you!"

As soon as he reached the tendrils, they latched onto him, slowing his descent to the earth but trapping him. In vain, Katsuo tried to free himself, stretching his arms outwards and trying to break the shadow's hold on him. A bead of sweat rolled down Shikaku's cheek, the only sign that he was having difficulty binding Katsuo.

Katsuo took this as being positive, redoubling his efforts to break free. Shikaku grunted as he walked forwards. "Stubborn guy, aren't you?" he muttered to Katsuo. He was now almost directly in front of him now. The Shadow Sewing technique shifted into the Shadow Imitation. Katsuo's hand lifted – albeit slowly and jerkily – to cover his mouth from a yawn. He looked in annoyance as Shikaku lowered both of their hands. "That was tiring," he complained to Katsuo. "Couldn't you have made me use a little less chakra for this?"

Katsuo rolled his eyes. "You should see how much Minato uses a day," he mumbled back at him. He tested his restraints again, grinning a little as he twitched his finger. Shikaku didn't notice.

"Kage Kubi Shibari no Jutsu. You should forfeit now, Yakushi," Shikaku said to Katsuo. "Or I'll have to make you faint from asphyxiation."

Katsuo sucked in a sharp breath as he felt a shadow crawling up to his neck. A shadow hand rested around his throat comfortably for a moment before it started to squeeze. Shikaku moved in even closer, to strengthen his technique. Katsuo grimaced as he felt his air being cut off. Black spots began to dance around the edges of his vision as panic started to settle in.

Katsuo struggled futilely for a few moments before his eyes rolled up and he sagged in his bound position. Shikaku frowned and released the jutsu, satisfied with his result. The second he turned his head away from the other boy to look at Shinji was the second it happened.

Katsuo was on his feet in a flash, his hands a blur as he completed six seals. "Katon: Gōkakyu no Jutsu!"

Shikaku whipped his head back around in surprise. Katsuo looked on in grim satisfaction. At point blank range, the fireball would have incinerated him to a crisp.

Out of the smoke, a strand of shadow flew out, tightly wrapping around Katsuo again. Katsuo's eyes flew open in shock. "What-?!"

Shikaku was once again in front of him, controlling the neck bind technique. "That was pretty good," he praised Katsuo. "However, the one flaw is that that kind of manoeuvre is pretty common. Against a person with my kind of intelligence, it's worthless. I anticipated it from the moment you pretended to fall unconscious."

"Then how did you-"

"I made a clone and swapped places with you. After your fireball attack, I dispelled it and took advantage of the smoke, once again trapping you."

Shikaku flexed his wrist. "Now, it's ov-"

With a final grunt of exertion, Katsuo broke free of the shadow bind and lunged for Shikaku, hands blazing blue. "Chakura no Yaiba!" he yelled, slashing his rigid palm upwards. "With each use, your shadow technique gets weaker and weaker!" Shikaku choked out an agony filled yell as the chakra blade sliced through the flesh and muscle tissue of his upper arm.

Katsuo sliced forwards again, but this time – despite the amount of pain he was in – Shikaku caught his arm and threw him forwards, dodging the second chakra concentrated arm. Katsuo, caught off guard and off balance by his momentum, stumbled to the ground. Shikaku took advantage of this opportunity by leaping towards him. A fist flashed out of the air and struck Katsuo. With a groan, he fell again, onto his back.

Already tired from the attempted suffocation he had gone through before, Katsuo laid on his back, too weary to even think about continuing the fight. Shikaku, a few metres away from him, was holding his hand to the bleeding arm, trying to staunch the flow. 'That's definitely going to be stiff tomorrow,' he remarked sarcastically towards himself. Then he gazed at the younger genin, creasing his brow. 'What mental willpower that kid has, to be able to throw off the shadow imitation technique...one day, he will be a formidable shinobi.'

He half crawled, half stumbled his way to Katsuo, smiling tiredly when he realised the other boy was unconscious. 'What a relief. I thought I'd have to use even more chakra...I'm nearly out, as it is.'

The proctor walked over to the two boys, inspecting Katsuo's prone body. He nodded once at Shikaku. "Winner of the fifth match – Nara Shikaku!"

**

* * *

**

"Katsuo lost?" Kasumi asked, wide eyed. It was obvious she was worried for her teammate, but puzzlement still clouded her features. Naruto nodded from beside her. "I'm not surprised, actually," he told her. When she raised a questioning eyebrow, Naruto elucidated. "Shikaku is an older genin, for one, which means he has a lot more experience than use. Secondly, he's a genius. Not many people can stand up to a guy like that, and from what I can see, Katsuo nearly beat him."

"Come on!" Kasumi called, dragging Naruto with her as she jumped off the balcony. "Let's go see how Katsuo's doing!"

Naruto rolled his eyes and left with a more dignified Shunshin.

**

* * *

**

Shinji gave the two newcomers a flat stare as they entered the arena. "Go back to the waiting area," he commanded as they neared Katsuo and Shikaku. Kasumi rolled her eyes. "We just want to see our teammate," she complained.

On the ground, both boys were being tended to by medics as immediate treatment. "How troublesome!" Shikaku exclaimed, staring at the bloody wound on his left arm. "This is going to take ages to heal!"

"Now now, Nara-kun!" the medic attending him admonished in a motherly voice. "Don't complain, the injury will heal quite neatly, and you have no worries of scarring. The only thing that _is_ a little perturbing, however, are the internal injuries Yakushi-kun over there inflicted on you. I'm sure that..."

Shikaku tuned her out after the first six syllables, staring up at the clouds above. "She sounds like my mum," he mumbled to himself quietly. "So troublesome..."

Meanwhile, beside him Katsuo was waking up after Kasumi dumped a D-rank Suiton jutsu on his head. This earned a much deserved death glare from the medic working on healing his minor scratches and bruises, which Kasumi brushed away easily.

"Wha..." Katsuo groaned groggily, attempting to sit up. Naruto knelt beside him and helped him sit, supporting Katsuo's shoulders with his hands. "Oh. Thanks, Minato," he said to Naruto. "I lost, didn't I?" he asked to no one in particular.

"Yeah," Kasumi replied, sitting down by his side. "Doesn't matter though. Now you get to see _us_ kick some butt next round!"

Katsuo looked at her with a slightly incredulous expression on his face. Naruto smirked from behind him. "Serves you right for teasing her before her match," he supplied. Katsuo jabbed his elbow behind himself in an attempt to hit Naruto, but because he couldn't see him he missed entirely, earning a chuckle from the blonde haired shinobi.

Katsuo reached up a hand to tenderly feel the light bruising around his neck. He winced slightly, but then pushed some chakra into his hand. "Shōsenjutsu," he muttered, activating a technique that he had recently learned from his father. A light green glow emanated from his hands, and after a few moments Katsuo withdrew his hand, sighing in relief. "Much better," he muttered, clambering slowly to his feet. "Let's go."

**

* * *

**

After the medics and genin had left the arena, Shinji cleared his throat. "Sixth and last match of the first round – Kurome versus Hibiyaki Hisako."

The Jinchuuriki appeared at the centre of the arena with a Suna Shunshin, crossing his arms and staring into space, seemingly unruffled by anything. A few moments later, Hisako too entered the arena, having walked down the stadium wall, eliciting many gasps and whispers amongst the crowd.

Kurome met Hisako's squarely, calmly. On the other hand, the blonde haired girl looked almost...frightened, eyes darting anywhere but at the Suna nin's face.

"Start!"

Naruto, who was situated up in the stands, was extremely curious about this match, and was watching it rather intently. He glanced up at the three Kages, and at the Sandaime Kazekage in particular. He too, was almost leaning forward in his seat, watching the match closely. Following the direction of his eyes, Naruto directed his gaze back to the arena.

"Hibiyaki-san, I suggest you give up," Kurome spoke. He had a light voice, and it was not filled with any of the malice or evil Gaara had shown during his matches. The Kumo girl cast a fleeting look to Kurome, before looking up to the Raikage. Looking back at the other boy, she drew a tantō from a holster on her shoulder.

Eyebrows slanting down, Kurome stayed still with his arms crossed as Hisako ran at him. She swung with the blade, aiming to slash across his body diagonally. A metre away from Kurome, a wall of sand appeared, blocking her attack and latching onto her blade. Kurome hadn't moved from his position at all.

Gritting her teeth, Hisako wrenched the tantō from the sand's grasp, back flipping a few times as she did so to put more distance in between them.

'So that's him...' Sarutobi thought, throwing a sideways look at his fellow Kage. 'I wonder...'

Finally, Kurome moved, extending his hand towards the kunoichi. "Sabaku Rō," he said quite calmly.

A burst of sand exploded from his gourd, rushing towards Hisako. The girl's eyes widened in shock, and she quickly ran, escaping the sand that tried to grab her. Eventually, Hisako's speed stood no match to Kurome's sand. Within moments, she was trapped within a rock hard sphere of sand – not constricting, but not allowing her to exit either.

"Forfeit," Kurome said, narrowing his eyes. "Or I will kill you."

"A-alright!" Hisako squeaked. "I give up!"

The sand slowly dissolved, flowing back into the gourd container on Kurome's back as soon as it softened. Hisako dropped to the ground as the prison of sand fell apart, landing in a low crouch. Shinji mentally applauded the girl in his head. 'Good call for forfeiting,' he thought in his mind. 'I wonder what that kid with the funny eyes would have done with his sand, though.'

"Winner of the sixth match – Kurome!" Shinji announced.

Naruto stepped back from the railing, amazed. Either Kurome had incredible control over his demon, or the seal applied to him was stronger than Gaara's had been...Gaara would have crushed the kunoichi to death instead of merely imprisoning her.

"That concludes the first round!" the third exam proctor continued. "The competitors of the second round are – Kaori Kasumi; Midori; Namikaze Minato; Satoru; Nara Shikaku and Kurome. After a brief ten minute intermission, the second round will commence. The first match will be Kaori Kasumi versus Midori!"

Naruto grinned. "Rest up, Kasumi!" he called, sitting down. "We've only got ten minutes."

**

* * *

**

**Author's Notes: **Yay, we finished off the first round!

So...another action filled chapter with fight scenes...hmm...I didn't really expect Satoru to turn out that...well, evil. He's like pseudo-Gaara...except without the demon, and before Naruto decided to slam their heads together. Alright muse, you win this round. Moving on...

It might be a bit early to start asking, but does anyone know when Obito and Rin became genin? And what rank Kakashi was when they did? I visited the wiki, which told me Obito graduated at nine (maybe because of war time?), but when I checked on Rin's profile it didn't say anything of the sort. Thanks!

(Random point of interest – Kurome means 'black eye'.)

-Dream Keys

Shunshin: Body Flicker

Kawarimi: Substitution

Shingan no Jutsu: Mind's Eye

Raiton: Shuuraiyari: Lightning Release: Lightning Strike Spear (Dun dun dun! And my original jutsu makes its second appearance! Although, it _was_ mainly on a whim...and lack of researchable, real lightning jutsu!)

Kai: Release

Kagemane no Jutsu: Shadow Imitation Technique

Kage Nui no Jutsu: Shadow Sewing Technique

Kage Kubi Shibari no Jutsu: Shadow Neck Bind Technique

Katon: Gōkakyu no Jutsu: Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique

Chakura no Yaiba: Chakra Blade (Another original technique, it is an imperfect version of the chakra scalpel, instead cutting through flesh unlike the scalpel.)

Shunshin: Body Flicker

Suiton: Water Release

Shōsenjutsu: Mystical Palm Technique

Suna Shunshin: Sand Body Flicker

Tantō: A smaller version of a katana. It is double edged, but has no tip, which means it is used exclusively for cutting instead of stabbing.

Sabaku Rō: Sand Binding Prison


	17. Chapter 17

**Author's Notes: **Hey everyone! Thanks to everyone who left a review last chapter – your input is really appreciated! I enjoyed reading your comments.

On another note, NaNoWriMo month is coming up – for those of you who don't know, it's where authors aim to write over 50,000 words in the month of November in the form of an original novel (or a fan fiction, if they so desire). I myself am planning on undertaking this challenge as it is my second year of this. During this time, it's possible that I won't be able to update for a while. I'll still be trying to write as much as I can, but since I'm trying to pound out 1667 words a day for NaNo the updates will most likely be shorter.

If anyone wants any more details just visit: www(dot)nanowrimo(dot)org.

In my own estimation, I might be able to get out approximately three more chapters before November starts.

* * *

After seeing her viciously plunge what seemed like a blade of wind into the other Konoha nin's stomach, Kasumi was rightfully wary of the green eyed Suna girl.

Midori absentmindedly swung the double edged sword in front of her in a lazy 'x' arc, before relaxing her hand, allowing it to point diagonally downwards, its tip resting on the ground. Kasumi drew a kunai, holding it in a forehand grip.

"Alright..." Shinji said. "Begin!"

With lightning like reflexes, Midori's sword snapped up from its stationary position on the ground towards Kasumi's face in the blink of an eye. Kasumi bent over backwards as it lashed out towards her, watching the steel flash in front her face before her hands connected with the ground, allowing her to flip backwards, springing lightly onto her feet again a metre away.

'If I can make sure she's off balance enough so she doesn't use any of those wind jutsu...' Kasumi thought before leaping into action. _Tiger!_

"Doton: Doryū Taiga!"

Beneath Midori, the ground transformed into a river of mud. The sludge clung onto the Sand ninja, sticking onto her legs and making her scowl fiercely in disgust. Midori prepared to use a jutsu, possibly freeing herself from the mud, but Kasumi beat her to it. "Kanko!" she called.

The mud froze around Midori's legs, trapping her in its iron like strength. Kasumi calmly stepped onto the hardened earth and started walking towards her, kunai in hand. 'Well, that wasn't so hard.'

She calmly placed her kunai at the base of the other girl's neck, the meaning clear: surrender. Midori merely closed her eyes and smirked. Kasumi's eyes narrowed as a horrible thought struck her. Pressing the blade a little harder into Midori's neck, the black haired girl was only half surprised to see it turn into wood before her eyes. She remembered Jiraiya's lessons in detecting a surprise attack, and whirled around, leaping backwards at the same time.

Midori's chokuto slashed Kasumi's blue shirt, as well as a bit of her skin. In surprise, Kasumi gasped and pressed a hand to her stomach. The cut was shallow and it wasn't bleeding profusely, but if the fight carried on it would only serve to slow her down. She looked up at Midori, who was holding up the slightly bloodied blade in triumph. Then she said two simple words.

"My turn."

What followed next was a gruelling five minutes of dashing around the arena, trying to evade Midori's impressive repertoire of wind jutsu. As one last Violent Wind Palm tore past, carrying several shuriken in it, the blonde haired girl decided she had had enough. "Let's finish this, shall we?"

Midori sped forward, twirling her chokuto expertly. Kasumi had already heard her talk about her using wind chakra to reinforce the blade's cutting edge, so she flung the kunai in her hand before rolling to the side. Discretely, she made a few hand seals.

Midori batted away the single kunai effortlessly with a blur of the sword. She once again headed for Kasumi, who flung a scroll into the air. The scroll unfurled as it went, before a cloud of smoke enveloped the entire area around Kasumi. Midori skidded to a stop, wary of approaching blindly.

The smoke cleared again to show _two _Kasumis, one standing in front of her and one standing a few metres behind the first. Midori flicked her eyes between the two for a few seconds. The one closest to her raised her fists in a fighting position and Midori smirked, lashing forwards with her chokuto. Half expecting resistance and half _not,_ Midori stumbled forwards a bit as her blade felt no resistance. The bunshin flickered away.

Midori was _definitely_ not prepared to see a Fūma shuriken spinning towards her. Instinctively, she raised her sword, deflecting the giant four bladed weapon. It bounced at her feet as she had not used any force to hit it with. A faint hissing at Midori's feet surprised her; it was the small flame flickering up a tag with kanji written on it...

'Exploding tag!' Midori mentally screamed, throwing herself to the side. The tag detonated, making a huge crater in the middle of the arena. Smoke billowed around the site.

Midori slowly stood up, gratefully blessing whatever god that was out there who had helped her get to safety. A circle of leaves slowly drifted around her, making the kunoichi look around herself carefully. Catching view of the figure of Kasumi, Midori was surprised to see her flicker away as well. 'A bunshin as well?! But...how...?'

Midori took a step forwards, glancing warily around the arena. "What now?" she murmured quietly.

"Midori."

Midori whirled around, looking for the source of the voice. Her eyes widened as she took in the scene before her.

"Kurome...!" she exclaimed, unable to stop herself. "Satoru!" Before her was the horrifying scene from a nightmare – her two teammates lay spreadeagled on the ground, multiple weapons protruding from their corpses. Midori hesitantly took a step forwards towards the two before common sense kicked in. Her features hardened into a scowl again. 'There's no way Kurome could ever get hurt like that...and Satoru wouldn't die like that, he's too damn proud to rot away at all...'

"Kai!"

"-ūka no Jutsu!"

'Huh?!' Midori spun around, hearing the cry from behind her. Four shuriken were implanted in the ground at her feet, with the flame technique running along the wire that was connected from Kasumi's mouth to the same four shuriken.

Midori cursed as the fire closed down on her. One chakra enhanced leap sent her flying through the air towards Kasumi. The other girl was still removing the ninja wire from her mouth. Midori channelled chakra through her chokuto before aiming and flinging it.

Kasumi looked up just in time to see the wind chakra enhanced blade whistling through the air at a breakneck pace. She barely had enough time to make the seals for Kawarimi before the sword split the log in half. Anticipating this move, Midori pinpointed the exact location Kasumi substituted herself into, and landed behind her, a foot lashing out.

Fists flew through the air as the two kunoichi engaged in nothing but a pure taijutsu match. Kasumi grimaced as she felt pain lance through the wound on her stomach that she had received earlier. Midori took one glance at her expression and her face cleared. Before Kasumi could react, Midori shifted her attacks from Kasumi's upper body to her stomach, scoring a glancing hit. Still, that single hit was powerful enough to distract Kasumi, who doubled over in pain.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Midori jerked her knee up, smashing it into Kasumi's jaw. The girl groaned in pain, but still moved instinctually. A hand snaked out and grabbed a hold of Midori's sash, yanking it towards her. She repeated the move Midori had performed on herself just before.

A dizzying wave of nausea swept through both kunoichi, and they both fell to the ground at the same time, gasping for breath. They both groaned and fell backwards at the same time.

"Double knockout," Shinji muttered, walking over. "Both participants are-"

"W-wait!"

"Hmm?" the proctor looked around.

A grim but victorious looking Midori slowly clambered to her feet, swaying unsteadily. Shinji slowly nodded in understanding.

"Very well. Winner of the first match – Midori!"

The crowd rose to their feet in thunderous applause. A near draw was what was the most pleasing to the spectators – if the battle could swing either way at a moment's notice, it was all the more engaging. This match had given them what they wanted, and it was extremely pleasing.

Amidst the spectators' ovation, four figures each used a various Shunshin to appear before the two kunoichi. The medics had already arrived.

"...few bruises here and there, that cut over your stomach and minor chakra fatigue," the motherly medic-nin was saying to a newly awoken Kasumi. She shook her head in dismay. "I don't know why they even bother with these exams..."

"I'll help you with that," Katsuo offered, kneeling down beside Kasumi. A warm green glow activated around his hand as he placed it over her stomach.

"Gah," Kasumi mumbled, twitching. "That tickles!"

Katsuo raised his eyebrows incredulously. "Out of all the things to feel when you're being healed, you just have to feel ticklish," he sighed. A moment later, his face brightened again. "But anyway, contrary to what you said before you didn't...hmm, what was it? Ah, yes. You didn't 'kick some butt' at all."

Kasumi swatted him, earning a mock hurt look from the boy.

"As amusing as your banter is, I think Shinji-san would like us to vacate the arena now..." Naruto hinted towards the two. Katsuo blinked before removing his hand. "There. You shouldn't strain your body too much for a while though, Kasumi."

"Yeah, yeah..."

When she turned around, Midori was once again facing her, on her feet as well. The blonde kunoichi stepped forward as Kasumi looked at her inquisitively.

"You gave me a good fight," she muttered to Kasumi, before turning around again and leaving with only one of her teammates. The other stayed behind, hands tucked into his pockets.

Kasumi gave her an odd look behind her back. "Thanks...I think."

As she prepared the seals for the Body Flicker, Naruto caught her arm, preventing her from executing it. She looked at him strangely. "What?"

Naruto gave her an amused look before continuing. "Didn't you hear what Katsuo said?" he inquired mildly. "Don't strain yourself. I think moving at incredibly high speeds by using chakra to vitalise the body counts as straining yourself."

Kasumi laughed embarrassedly. "Oops," she said. "Sorry, Minato."

Naruto shrugged as the three started to move towards the stairs. "It's not me you should be apologising to," he replied. "Anyway..."

"That's right," Katsuo interjected. "I'm hurt, Kasumi."

Behind them in the arena, the proctor once again lifted his voice. "Second match – Namikaze Minato versus Satoru."

Naruto flicked two fingers to his head in a salute. "That's my cue," he declared as the three reached the foot of the stairs. "See you later."

"I'd almost forgotten it was your match next," Katsuo answered him. "Good luck, Minato." Next to Katsuo, Kasumi echoed his message, giving a friendly wave to Naruto as he walked back out into the arena.

* * *

"Begin."

Silence. Absolute silence, with neither person making a move.

Naruto scrutinised his opponent with an analysing eye. From what he had seen from his previous match, Satoru preferred not to use any real violence. Other than the one jutsu he had displayed, Satoru still remained a relatively unknown opponent.

On the other hand, Naruto had already displayed some of his skills, ranging from the Kage Bunshin to the various jutsu he had used. It couldn't be helped. Naruto would just have to play it by ear.

Satoru calmly placed his hands into a seal. _Bird._ "Shingan no Jutsu."

Naruto's eyes narrowed. 'I've seen this before...'

"Kai!" he called, halting his flow of chakra for a second before flaring it abruptly afterward. 'Oops,' Naruto thought as he watched Satoru stumble back in slight surprise. 'I must have overdone it...'

Satoru watched in considerable awe as his original jutsu was torn apart with complete ease. He had seen Naruto prepare for Genjutsu Kai, but the sheer amount of chakra he had exuded afterwards was simply...amazing.

"Fūton: Reppūshō," Naruto called, bringing his palms together. A blast of wind rushed towards Satoru, who lazily made a few seals.

"Katon: Gōkakyu no Jutsu!" he countered. The fireball ignited and tore apart Naruto's wind technique, continuing towards him. Naruto sidestepped it, before making a seal. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Two shadow clones flickered to life and rushed Satoru, each drawing a kunai and slashing at the Suna nin. Satoru evaded both rather easily, punching one away and stabbing the other in the heart with a kunai.

Naruto inspected both clones as they returned to him before turning to look at Satoru again. "Pretty clever of you, to make a double layered illusion," he remarked. "Kai."

Satoru looked rather surprised. "How did you know?" he asked. Naruto looked around himself again and laughed. "Make that a three layer genjutsu," he corrected himself. "First your Shingan no Jutsu, followed by a Magen: Kokoni Arazu no Jutsu and then a Magen: Nijū Kokoni Arazu no Jutsu on top of that."

"How can you tell?" Satoru repeated. Naruto glanced at him. "It was rather easy," he admitted. "Genjutsu relies on the creativity and originality of the caster. You don't know much about Kage Bunshin, so you didn't know that they would disperse after being killed like that."

Satoru smiled. "It's always good to know more of my opponent's weaknesses," he commented. "Now... Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu!"

Several balls of fire exploded from Satoru's clenched index finger and thumb, flying towards Naruto.

"Suiton: Suijinheki!" Naruto retorted. A wall of water rose around him, absorbing the small fireballs easily. 'So...he most likely has a fire affinity...I guess it's lucky I brought that...'

Meanwhile, Satoru had gone wide eyed. "How on earth...where did you get the water for that technique?!" he exclaimed, backing up a step. Naruto smiled. "A ninja never reveals their tricks," he replied, digging a hand into his equipment pouch and bringing out a scroll.

Close to panicking now that Naruto had proven himself adept in countering all of his jutsu, Satoru took out a few kunai and threw them at the blonde haired Leaf nin before following them, intent to finish off the fight with a bout of taijutsu.

Without any hurry, Naruto dodged one of the kunai and kicked aside the other before throwing his hands out wide, opening the scroll. Satoru stopped in his tracks, reading the elaborate kanji on the scroll and deciphering what he knew. "Summoning...water..."

Without warning, a torrent of water gushed forwards completely drenching Satoru. If Naruto wasn't in the middle of a serious duel, he would have burst out laughing from the shell shocked expression on the other boy's face. Instead, he closed the distance between them, flashing through seals as he went.

"Suirō no Jutsu!" Naruto extended a hand as the water all over Satoru and the ground beneath him rose up and coalesced into a sphere of water, trapping the Sand ninja inside it. Satoru struggled futilely inside it, all the while losing his breath while doing so.

Everyone looked on in trepidation as Satoru yelled out to Naruto. Naruto paid no heed to the other boy, staring off into space while Satoru continued to resist. Soon, the ninja lost his breath and froze, eyes widening as he realised what he had done.

Not wanting to drown Satoru, Naruto let go of the water prison as soon as he looked like he was on the brink of unconsciousness and placed a kunai over Satoru's head, looking over to Shinji.

The proctor walked over and prodded Satoru. When he was sufficiently satisfied, he stood up again. "Winner of the second match – Namikaze Minato!"

* * *

"How interesting," the Kazekage murmured from his seat. He tipped his blue Kage hat in Sarutobi's direction. "A very ingenious plan by that boy."

Sarutobi watched the younger man out of the corner of his eye. The Kazekage did not seem to be affected by his genin's loss at all – rather, he was congratulating Leaf on their victory! The Third Hokage nodded back in response to him. "He was trained by one of my own students, Jiraiya," he replied neutrally. The Raikage tilted his head.

"The same Jiraiya as Jiraiya of the Sannin?" he asked. Sarutobi nodded again. "That is correct," he answered. The Raikage merely smiled and nodded noncommittally.

Down in the arena, the last fight of the round was commencing.

"Nara Shikaku versus Kurome...begin!"

* * *

Shikaku had seen how effortlessly Kurome had beaten his first opponent, and resolved to be extremely wary. His arm twinged a little and Shikaku grimaced – the medical chakra technique Katsuo had used on him earlier still hurt quite a bit, despite the emergency medical attention he had received as soon as the fight was over.

Also, his chakra reserves wouldn't be able to take another lengthy beating. Shikaku's chakra reserves were not the most extensive to begin with, so it was little wonder that he was feeling fatigued. He hated to admit it, but the outcome of this battle was obvious. Still, he would try his best to win in any case.

A tendril of sand snaked out of the gourd on Kurome's back and Shikaku stepped back warily.

Kurome stretched his hand out, the move mirroring the one he had shown in his last battle. "Sabaku R-"

"Kagemane no Jutsu!" Shikaku snapped out, the shadow at his feet twisting and racing towards Kurome, reaching his own shadow just before he started the jutsu. Shikaku breathed out a sigh of relief. 'And just in time, too...' he thought.

Kurome frowned, his hand moving of its own accord to a weapons pouch that didn't exist. Beads of sweat appeared on Shikaku's brow as he mentally commanded Kurome to imitate him. Gripping a shuriken, Shikaku threw it at the other boy. Opposite him, Kurome made the same motion, but without the weapon in hand.

The bladed weapon whistled through the air, but moments before making contact a wall of sand appeared, batting the shuriken away. Shikaku's eyes widened. "How...you're still under my jutsu!"

'But...' he thought quietly to himself. 'It's not as if I can hold this much longer...'

"My sand protects me of its own accord," Kurome replied to his rhetorical question. He concentrated for a moment, before the shadow at his feet flickered. Taking advantage of the destabilised state of the technique, the black haired boy quickly stepped back, weakening the jutsu even further. After a few tense seconds, the jutsu broke entirely.

As soon as it happened, Kurome sent a wave of sand towards the Nara boy. It enclosed around him, hardening, until 'Shikaku' disappeared with a puff of smoke, a log replacing him.

"Kawarimi?" Kurome asked, looking mildly amused. "How long can you run?"

He walked forward a step, but froze as the ground underneath him clicked. "Mines! He planted mines!"

Shikaku paid no heed to the explosion behind him as he ran as fast as he could towards the place where Naruto had defeated Satoru. The smoke behind him cleared away, revealing a grim looking Kurome who had bits of hardened sand dribbling away from his face and body. He narrowed his eyes at Shikaku. Sand rushed out of his gourd towards the genius boy.

"Oh no..." Midori mumbled up at the competitors' box.

"That look..." Satoru agreed, looking apprehensive.

Naruto frowned. The phrase "Oh no" wasn't the best one he had wanted to hear, especially about the Shukaku Jinchuuriki. Naruto had learned the hard way why when the sand demon was involved, "Oh no" definitely _wasn't_ what he wanted to hear.

"Suiton: Mizurappa!" Shikaku called, soaking up the leftover water left by Naruto's summoning scroll and spraying it out of his mouth in a torrent. The end result was not as strong as it could be – after all, it was midday and the majority of the water had evaporated.

Still, the jutsu did what it was intended to do and slowed down Kurome's sand. Hissing slightly in frustration, Kurome stalked a little closer and gestured. To Shikaku's immense shock – and slight horror – the ground beneath him rumbled, before it crumbled, turning into sand which grabbed hold of him, winding upwards until all that was visible was his head.

"Give up," Kurome hissed between clenched teeth, one hand rubbing his forehead as if he had a headache. "Or I'll kill you."

Shikaku nodded. "I forfeit," he said. There was no point in continuing to struggle when Kurome could crush him in an instant. Shinji stepped forward. "Winner of the third match – Kurome! This concludes the second round. The competitors for the third round are – Midori, Namikaze Minato and Kurome. There will be a short lunch break before we begin the third round. The first match will be Midori versus Namikaze Minato. Kurome will fight whoever wins the first match."

* * *

The girl peeked her head out of the two large bushes beside the road, kunai clenched firmly in her hand. Looking left and right, she decided that no one was following her and half stumbled out onto the open road. Her red hair, pulled up into a dirty and loose ponytail, waved slightly in the wind as she tottered along. Next destination: Konoha, where hopefully they would be accepting of a new refugee.

It wasn't as if Uzu no Kuni was a very cheerful place to be in at the moment.

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Okay...so how did it go? I wanted to kind of put some of the characters in a different light...I hope it worked!

First mention of one particular character...please leave a comment! Any feedback is really appreciated!

-Dream Keys

Chokuto: A straight sword that is usually single edged, but can be double edged. (In Midori's case, her chokuto is double edged.)

Doton: Doryū Taiga: Earth Release: Earth Flow River

Kanko: Dry and harden

Bunshin: Clone

Fūma shuriken: Literally meaning 'Demon Wind Shuriken', it is a large, four bladed shuriken.

Kai: Release, cancel

Katon: Ryūka no Jutsu: Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique

Kawarimi: Substitution

Shunshin: Body Flicker (There. I finally made an allusion to the fact that Shunshin is not actually a teleportation jutsu...)

Kage Bunshin: Shadow Clone

Shingan no Jutsu: Mind's Eye Technique

Fūton: Reppūshō: Wind Release: Violent Wind Palm

Katon: Gōkakyu no Jutsu: Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique

Magen: Kokoni Arazu no Jutsu: Demonic Illusion: False Surroundings Technique

Magen: Nijū Kokoni Arazu no Jutsu: Demonic Illusion: Double False Surroundings Technique

Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu: Fire Release: Phoenix Immortal Fire Technique

Suiton: Suijinheki: Water Release: Water Encampment Wall

Suirō no Jutsu: Water Prison Technique

Kagemane no Jutsu: Shadow Imitation Technique

Suiton: Mizurappa: Water Release: Violent Water Wave

Uzu no Kuni: Whirlpool Country


	18. Chapter 18

**Author's Note:** Between a crashing computer, restoring all my data and finding out that I've lost most of my chapters, it's been a long week...thanks to all of your positive reviews! Don't get too hyped up about Kushina...it's going to be a while before she's totally integrated into the story!

I've gotten a lot of reviews about my question in chapter 16 – about how old Kakashi, Rin and Obito were when they were under Minato. So far I've gotten things like 'Kakashi was younger than Rin and Obito' or 'They were all (so and so age)'. There are all different variations of this basic thing...so I'll probably stick with ten years. Anyway, it's still early for those characters to be introduced, and you'll just have to see what I do about it.

**

* * *

**

Naruto hadn't eaten lunch. Although the day hadn't been particularly hot to begin with, the sun had reached its zenith and the arena was swathed in a warm layer of air. Eating a sandwich, or rice, or any other kind of food just before fighting a major battle would not be the best idea.

Instead, he had gotten himself a bottle of cold spring water and was calmly sipping it a mouthful at a time. Naruto noticed both Midori and Kurome had done the same as him also.

It had been approximately twenty minutes since Shinji had called for the lunch break, and Naruto was fairly sure that the third round was going to start soon. The aroma of freshly baked sweet rolls wafted past him from the spectator stands. Naruto raised an eyebrow and forced his stomach to stop growling. Just as he had thought, there was a poof of smoke as Shinji used the Shunshin to appear in the arena below.

"Contestants Midori and Namikaze Minato please enter the arena. The first match is about to start."

Naruto stood up, accepting words of luck from Kasumi and Katsuo as he left the competitors' box. Midori was already in the arena. As his feet touched the solid ground beneath him, Naruto drew a kunai, holding it loosely at his thigh.

"Any...last words?" Midori smirked, sliding her chokuto out of her sash. Naruto sighed. "Not really in the mood, sorry," he retorted, tensing as he saw Shinji move.

"Begin."

The two dashed away from each other, eventually looping around to run in two parallel lines. Midori made her move first, throwing a barrage of shuriken and kunai after throwing her sword into the air. Naruto launched himself upwards, reaching for the chokuto, his fingers barely touching the wrappings around the handle. Midori, who had anticipated his move, was already in the air, snatching the blade before Naruto could close his fingers around the handle.

Propelled by his momentum, Naruto tried for a spin kick in the air. Midori caught his leg with one hand, but was forced to let go when Naruto snapped his other foot forwards, releasing the other. She sliced forwards with her chokuto, which was blazing blue with wind chakra.

Naruto focused wind chakra into his own kunai and brought it up, parrying her blow. Sparks flew as metal screeched on metal, creating an unearthly shrieking noise.

They both reached the ground at the same time, barely a metre away from each other. Naruto raised his hand and threw the kunai, still charged with chakra, leaving himself some time to jump backwards to a safer distance.

Midori deflected the kunai, whipping around her sword and striking it away. Nevertheless, it left a huge scratch in the blade, causing the blonde haired girl to scowl. It was just her luck to be paired with a fellow wind element user.

"Fūton: Daitoppa!" she said, as the devastating explosion of wind ripped through the air towards Naruto.

Naruto disappeared with a blur, reappearing in front of Midori again with a powerful right hook. The Suna girl went flying, twisting in mid air and digging her chokuto into the ground to stop her momentum. 'He's fast!' she thought.

Naruto dug in his kunai holster, retrieving two more of the weapons, one in each hand. He channelled wind chakra to both of them, careful to make sure that the accumulated chakra was razor thin instead of with a widespread range.

Midori stood up, her grip tightening momentarily on her blade before striding forward, slashing downwards before reversing and going the opposite way in an extremely fast motion. Naruto sidestepped the first attack, before darting around and jabbing downwards with the points at the very end of his two kunai.

The end result was...devastating, at least for Midori. The motion made by the kunoichi was to cut upwards with a wind chakra enhanced slice. The motion made by Naruto was to stab downwards with the very tips of two extremely focused wind chakra knives. The two points of pressure with the refined razor's edge of chakra proved too much for Midori's chokuto.

It snapped cleanly in half, leaving Midori with a still functional, but rather short blade with jagged edges. Dropping it would be the obvious answer, as Midori was unused to the new weight and edge.

Naruto's deduction was proved correct when Midori tossed the now useless blade to one side, and bit her finger.

She swiped her finger across a concealed tattoo near the base of her left wrist. Almost immediately, the air was thick with flying kunai and shuriken. Naruto was quick to react.

"Doton: Moguragakure no Jutsu."

Naruto disappeared into the ground, watching from beneath as all of the weapons flew by. He re-emerged behind Midori, pressing a kunai to her neck. Without skipping a beat, the kunoichi thrust her elbow backwards, winding Naruto, before turning around, kicking Naruto's hand, and thus the kunai in it away before slapping an exploding tag onto his chest.

Success! Midori watched in satisfaction as the fuse and the note disappeared, before exploding in a spectacular fashion. A few drops of water hit her face...but wait, it was a sunny day! How could it be raining?

The smoke cleared away to reveal a mass of water without any real form mere seconds from impact. A Mizu Bunshin! A second Naruto exploded from the ground, his hands already making seals. "Suiton: Mizurappa!"

The water, which previously had no shape, suddenly concentrated itself and flew towards Midori. Midori's eyes widened and she backtracked as fast as she could, knowing what could happen if any of that water caught her. She barely noticed as another Naruto appeared behind her, jabbing the end of his kunai into her head. Midori fell in a heap, unmoving. The water left behind from the water clone splashed onto the ground harmlessly.

Shinji walked up, giving Midori a once over before nodding to himself. "Winner of the first match – Namikaze Minato!"

Naruto allowed himself to relax as the medics arrived on field. He let himself be checked thoroughly by one of them, before he sat down in the centre of the arena in a cross legged position, waiting for the next match to be called. Naruto mused that he had a disadvantage this time – after all, he was being forced to fight straight after a match, while Kurome had had more time to rest up.

Then Naruto realised that he had been low on chakra previously when he had fought Gaara. It didn't particularly bother him, though; Kurome seemed to try and refrain from killing his opponents.

There was a whirl of sand as the other boy appeared opposite him with a Suna Shunshin. Naruto undid his forehead protector, which was starting to become damp with his perspiration. After a moment of polishing it, he placed it once again around his forehead while standing up.

Kurome watched this with barely concealed disinterest – although it was primarily because he was studying his opponent on the whole. After all, this was the boy who had defeated both of his teammates with nearly the same move – and Satoru and Midori were hardly fools.

"This will be the last match of the Chunin Selection Exams tournament. The two contestants are Namikaze Minato and Kurome."

Naruto remembered that the only reason he had won before was because Gaara was not utilising his shield of sand; instead using all of his sand to turn him into a Shukaku miniature. If Naruto had fought him in a straight up match, he would have failed, and possibly died in the process. He had lacked both speed and precision.

Now he had both, as well as a backup jutsu in case Kurome decided to start exhibiting signs of going mad. Kurome had his sand, but also a more tactical mind than Gaara had ever had when he was younger. He could think more clearly, and seemed to have more abilities than just what he had shown. Naruto wondered how this match would end.

"Begin!"

**

* * *

**

It was lucky that Kushina had not met anyone on the main road, however odd that was. Usually the road would have had at least a few travellers, carts full of supplies, traders, caravans, the whole lot! However, this unusual absence was beneficial to her – she didn't know if her frayed nerves would take any more excitement.

Whirlpool had been attacked in an instant from outsider ninja forces – it was a small country, with not many employed ninja, so it had fallen quickly. The enemy had then torched all they could, not even looting anything. They had the feel of a trained unit, something rarely seen attacking such a small place as Uzu no Kuni.

And they were definitely shinobi. Their forehead protectors had all been blackened with soot and charcoal, making it impossible for anyone to see which country they hailed from. Absentmindedly, Kushina wondered if they were from another great elemental country.

However, what would one of the major shinobi countries want with attacking a small country like Whirlpool? Unless they wanted more land...but then they wouldn't have razed the whole place down, making it uninhabitable.

Additionally, Konoha and the Land of Fire was the closest shinobi village to Uzu no Kuni. Kushina shivered as she thought about walking to her own death – if Konoha was the hidden village that had destroyed her country.

Abruptly, the sound of sandals on the ground, walking her way startled Kushina out of her musings. She dived into the dense foliage, glad that she had listened to the advice not to wear orange on that fateful day. Instead, her camouflage coloured shirt matched the colours of her surroundings almost perfectly.

A man wearing a dark tan coloured coat walked past, humming cheerfully as he went. Kushina sighed almost inaudibly. It was just a traveller. As soon as he disappeared from view, Kushina cautiously rolled out of the bushes and onto the road again, grimacing at the scratches, both old and new, that she had obtained trying to escape the notice of anyone walking along the road.

Only a few more days and she would find out if Konoha had been behind the attack on her village...one way or the other.

**

* * *

**

Kurome _had_ been quick, lashing out with his sand as soon as the proctor had motioned for them to begin. However, Naruto had been expecting the black haired boy to do so, and had simply run out of the way, dodging under the arm of sand as it followed him.

Speeding up, Naruto had rolled under the sand again and had thrown an uppercut with the intention to lift Kurome off the ground. However, sand bloomed in front of Naruto's face as Kurome's shield of sand kicked in. Naruto's fist crashed harmlessly into the sand.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

The shadow clone appeared beside Naruto, extending a hand and propelling him into the air. Kurome's eyes followed the airborne one, his sand surging forwards in response. Too late, he realised as the Naruto still on the ground appeared behind him, raising his leg and kicking him across the arena, a high blow to the chest area.

Kurome staggered to his feet, eyes wide open in surprise as one hand felt the area where he had been kicked. No one had ever managed to penetrate his shield before except for...

Best not to go into that. Kurome straightened up, regaining his composure quickly. His sand surged around him again, forming into two Suna Bunshin, both twice his height.

Naruto raised an eyebrow. This was an ability he hadn't seen fully explored or utilised before. Both clones were slow and clumsy. Naruto wondered what Kurome was trying to achieve with this ability. The clone on Kurome's left let fly with a handful of sand shuriken while the one on the right stood still.

Naruto wondered if Kurome had any sand left for his shield while he dodged the shuriken flying his way. He then dashed towards Kurome with incredible speed.

His hand connected with what felt like compacted and hardened sand. It wove itself around his arm, gripping onto it as Naruto tried to pull free. So that was what the second clone had been for. Kurome had used a Kawarimi to switch places with his clone!

The sand clone suddenly dissolved, but moved faster than Naruto could take advantage of the momentary freedom. Sand wrapped around Naruto from head to toe, almost painfully tight. The only visible body part was Naruto's head.

"Give up," Kurome started on his diatribe, which had already been spoken twice in the day, to Shikaku and the other Kumo genin. His monologue was interrupted by Naruto, who grinned cheekily at him before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

A second Naruto from the ground beneath Kurome burst up, crashing his fist into the other boy's chin. Kurome was sent flying upwards, the sand from below trying to catch up. Naruto took advantage of Kurome's surprise and connected a series of rapid blows, each hitting the Jinchuuriki in a specific part of his body.

It was only after a few more of these crunching blows that the sand caught up, shoving Naruto away before wrapping itself around Kurome, ensuring his safe descent to earth. Naruto smiled inwardly. That should have hurt...

Kurome slowly stood up, pieces of cracked sand slowly falling from his body. Naruto cursed. Of course! He had forgotten the Jinchuuriki's Armour of Sand. Naruto inspected Kurome's expression closely. The other boy looked...angry. Uh oh. A few more hits and Shukaku could come out, and that was not good news for Naruto.

Still, Naruto did not have a true finishing move, unless the Five Elements Seal was counted. If Kurome started showing off any of the Shukaku's traits, it would be up to him to deal with him swiftly and efficiently.

Sand suddenly exploded out from behind Naruto, grabbing hold of each of his limbs. Naruto's head whipped around in surprise. How...?!

Then the answer hit him. When he had dodged the Suna shuriken that Kurome had thrown at him, they had been left discarded. However, those same shuriken were made out of sand, which was the very thing that was holding Naruto now.

Now...the one thing that he could do now...Naruto channelled wind chakra to the parts of his body that were being held and pushed it outwards. The sand snapped easily, releasing Naruto as he jumped upwards.

On reaching the ground, Naruto tore towards Kurome again, jumping over his head and landing on his hands, pushing off the ground and throwing his legs into the Jinchuuriki's back. As Kurome staggered forwards, Naruto whipped around and channelled wind chakra to his hands. He then slashed forwards with an open palm strike. If straight up punches wouldn't work, then perhaps a chakra powered blow would.

Naruto had made a miscalculation. When he had struck with his chakra, he had used a little bit too much. In the end, his hand tore straight through the sand armour, and right through skin. It was only a shallow cut, but it was long, spanning from the small of Kurome's back all the way up to his shoulder. Naruto jumped out of the way at last, landing back in front of Kurome.

Kurome screamed. It was a long, bloody holler. There was an unimaginable feeling – pain, the Kazekage had described to him – in his back, and Kurome had felt it for the first time in five years.

The pain receded somewhat; Kurome had stopped moving. However, there was another struggle coming up – Shukaku was screaming bloody murder in his head, demanding to be freed. As it struggled harder and harder, Kurome felt his control slip by just one tiny notch.

_Those eyes_.

Abruptly, sand exploded from the ground beneath Naruto. Eyes widening in surprise and alarm, Naruto leapt upwards. This time, it was the ground that had been ground into fine sand by Kurome. It followed him upwards, trying to reach him. Naruto drew a kunai with lightning like speed, hacking away at the sand and reaching the ground relatively unscathed.

He looked up to see Kurome standing directly in front of him, not a metre away from him with an almost wild look in his eyes. His fist, layered with hardened sand, shot outwards, crashing into Naruto's chest and sending him skidding across half the entire diameter of the arena floor.

While he was sliding, Naruto brought his legs up and pushed, landing in an upright position. He skidded another metre before stopping, his hands held in front of him with one clenching a kunai. An arm of sand lashed towards him from Kurome, and Naruto slashed back with his wind sharpened kunai, severing the sand as it closed upon him. He ran towards Kurome, not wanting to be at a distance where Kurome could easily call upon the sand again and again. On reaching the Jinchuuriki, Naruto stabbed outwards, only to have his hand pushed aside by Kurome. Not deterred, Naruto spread his left hand out into an open palm with his fingers slightly pointing upwards. Light blue chakra slowly swirled into existence.

"Rasengan!" Naruto shouted as he flung his hand – and the incomplete technique – into Kurome's stomach. Although it was only in the first stage of production, the jutsu did its job and set Kurome off balance. The black haired boy's shirt was now ripped, showing red and slightly burnt skin from Naruto's technique.

Now looking more enraged than ever, Kurome yelled, launching at Naruto with his bare fists. Caught off guard, Naruto was only able to deflect a few of the blows. One punch glanced by his shoulder while another hit him squarely in the stomach, sending him sprawling.

When Naruto looked up again, sand was layering upon Kurome's face and one of his arms. Naruto could have groaned. Kurome was slipping into a half Shukaku form – something that would be difficult to defeat.

"Fūton: Mugen Sajin Daitoppa!"

Sand rushed out of Kurome's mouth, straight at Naruto from a nearly point blank range. Naruto took a deep breath and flung himself out of the way, wondering how on earth he was supposed to slam a Gogyō Fūin into Kurome's gut at this rate. He drew another kunai and charged it with chakra.

Kurome charged at Naruto, swinging his giant arm of sand at him as he went. Naruto slashed an 'x' pattern with his two kunai, cutting Kurome's arm into two. Kurome hissed in anger and punched forwards with his other arm. Naruto ducked but jabbed his kunai upwards at the same time, giving Kurome a scratch on his left arm.

Naruto back flipped in the momentary lapse in fighting, landing on his feet. He tossed the two kunai at Kurome and placed his hands into a seal. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Five copies of Naruto appeared around him, ready to fight. Kurome dashed forwards again. Naruto noted that his speed has increased, before dodging Kurome's first blow and pushing regular chakra to his fist in an attempt at utilising Tsunade's famous strength technique. Unfortunately, Naruto had no idea how the jutsu went, and was just making it up on the fly.

His fist implanted itself in Kurome's midsection. Naruto gritted his teeth as he felt several of his knuckles crack just by the impact itself. A shudder ran itself up his arm. That hit had _hurt._

Nevertheless, the blow also shocked Kurome, who doubled over in pain. Naruto ran through a short seal sequence before lifting up his hand, even as the five clones latched onto Kurome, stopping his movement.

Naruto knew he didn't have much time. With the strength and speed Kurome was at currently, the clones would be shaken off in no time at all. Purple fire sprouted around each of his five fingertips, and he slammed his palm forward, past the remains of Kurome's tattered shirt.

"Gogyō Fūin!"

Kurome yelled as the technique hit him, burning a new seal on top of the old one. The change was immediate. First, the half of his face that was covered by the Shukaku's face receded, giving him his usual human appearance. Then the tail disappeared, slowly reforming into his gourd again. Lastly, his knees buckled, sending him to the ground.

By sheer strength of will, Kurome slowly forced himself to his feet, almost collapsing under the weight of the gourd. Naruto tensed, preparing himself to continue fighting. However, Kurome merely raised his hand. "Proctor...I forfeit," he said.

Naruto relaxed, letting go of the kunai he had drawn as Shinji nodded. "Winner of the last match – Namikaze Minato!"

The spectators were ecstatic. A huge cheer rose up for the tournament winner as everyone applauded and praised the young man who had shown his prowess in battle and had emerged victorious.

Naruto ignored them, instead looking over Kurome with a critical eye. "Here, let me fix that for you," he suggested, blue fire igniting in his palm. Kurome eyed him warily, but eventually acquiesced with a short nod. Naruto made a short jabbing motion at his stomach. "Gogyō Kaiin."

The seal that Naruto had made earlier disappeared slowly, and the sand that had been scattered around the arena rose up, trailing over to Kurome's gourd and filling it up. "...Thank you," he spoke quietly as the medics arrived. Naruto merely smiled, glad that the tournament was over and done with. He wondered what Minato had to say about his performance. He would probably say something about every scratch Naruto had gotten, telling him about his every flaw in that snarky tone of his.

Kasumi and Katsuo landed in the arena, each draping an arm over his shoulder. Naruto grinned and let himself be carted away by his two teammates.

**

* * *

**

"I still can't believe you won that thing!" Katsuo exclaimed as the team finished up another D-rank mission. It had been two days since the end of the Chunin Exams and Team Jiraiya was finally falling back into the habit of the boring in-village missions. Naruto elbowed his brown haired friend. "Oh, shut up about that already," he replied as the three of them walked through the doors to the Hokage Tower.

The secretary and guards admitted them through, and they were soon ushered to the Hokage's office. With a small puff of smoke, Jiraiya appeared on the window sill, waving and smiling before dropping in.

"Reporting in?" the Hokage inquired, putting down his pipe. Kasumi nodded with less than what would be appreciated enthusiasm and launched into their version of the events surrounding the weeding of a garden. After their report was finished, Sarutobi laughed. "Well done, you three," he chuckled heartily. "And now, I have a rather intriguing announcement for two of you."

Naruto narrowed his eyes. He could already suspect what the man was going to say. He glanced over at his teammates. And one of the three was going to miss out...

"Congratulations, Minato, Kasumi. You two have been promoted to the rank of chunin and are now expected to carry out more dangerous missions and even captain some of the missions yourself. Off the record though, it has been quite a while since any rookie was promoted to chunin in their first chunin exam."

Then he peered at Katsuo. "That is not to say you are not an excellent shinobi either, Katsuo," he continued. "You too show qualities that could get you promoted to chunin. It was unfortunate that you were paired with Shikaku in your first match."

He beckoned Naruto and Kasumi over to his desk and handed them a scroll each. "Inside these scrolls are sealed chunin vests. Wear them with pride – or not, if you prefer your own attire." Sarutobi chuckled again.

Kasumi gave her scroll a once over before punching her fist into the air, a wide grin splitting her face in half. "Yes! Only one more step and I'll be able to punch old perverts away with ease!"

Behind her, Jiraiya froze in a cold sweat while Katsuo appeared to be struggling not to laugh. Sarutobi flushed himself a bit before regaining his composure. "Ahem. Also, Kasumi, the head of the Konoha hospital requested for me to tell you to visit the hospital. Tetsuya would like you to come in for a check up just to make sure you're well."

Kasumi seemed to shrink in on herself a little. "Damn..." she mumbled. "I hate hospitals."

"If that's all for today, then you are dismissed," the Sandaime continued as if she hadn't said anything. "I believe all three of you will grow up to be fine shinobi of the Leaf."

**

* * *

**

**Author's Notes: **Tip number one...do not write fanfiction straight after reading My Immortal..._ my eyes are BURNING! On the other hand, that piece of fanfiction is such an epic lulz...

So concludes another chapter and with it the Chunin Exams...please tell me what you think! Leave a review or something – they are always welcome!

-Dream Keys

Shunshin: Body Flicker

Chokuto: A god damn big ass sword. (Although it isn't THAT big...)

Fūton: Daitoppa: Wind Release: Great Breakthrough

Doton: Moguragakure no Jutsu: Earth Release: Hiding Like a Mole Technique

Mizu Bunshin: Water Clone

Suiton: Mizurappa: Water Release: Violent Water Wave

Suna Shunshin: Sand Body Flicker

Kage Bunshin no Jutsu: Shadow Clone Technique

Suna Bunshin: Sand Clone

Kawarimi: Substitution, replacement

Suna shuriken: Sand shuriken

Rasengan: Spiralling Sphere

Fūton: Mugen Sajin Daitoppa: Wind Release: Infinite Sand Cloud Great Breakthrough

Gogyō Fūin: Five Elements Seal

Gogyō Kaiin: Five Elements Unseal


	19. Chapter 19

**Author's Notes: **Only two more days to go until NaNo – I'm going to be busy as heck during that month. To top it all there are lots of exams incoming...good luck to me with that! Anyway a big thank you to all of the fantastic reviews I received last chapter – and a really big thank you to Pickles who gave me all of those wonderful details!

**

* * *

**

Both Naruto and Katsuo accompanied Kasumi to the hospital straight after leaving the Hokage Tower. Jiraiya had left already, refusing to accompany them any further when he could be doing other more interesting things. He had then fled in terror as Kasumi crunched her fist into an open palm, looking murderous.

When one of the doctors called Kasumi in, the two boys decided to buy some food to pass the time, arriving at the hospital again ten minutes later.

Naruto and Katsuo traipsed up to the room Kasumi was in after checking with the lady at the front desk. Upon arriving at the room, they dumped their bags on a chair and ran over to Kasumi, who was sitting up. Her legs absently swung back and forth as she hauled herself into an upright position.

"How're you feeling?" Naruto asked as he turned around, using his arms to heave himself onto the bed as well. Katsuo grabbed the bag with the take away food inside before dragging the chair over and plopping himself down in it.

"Just fine," Kasumi replied, sounding exasperated. "I don't see why I even need to come here. I can't even feel the pain anymore."

Katsuo shrugged. "They're just worried, that's all. That's Konoha medics for you."

The three ate in silence for a while. A few minutes later, the door slid open, admitting a young looking, dark haired woman. "Kasumi? You can leave now," she announced, pushing the door back as far as it would go. Kasumi jumped up. "Finally," she mumbled softly so that the nurse wouldn't hear.

Kasumi slung the half empty bag over her shoulder, jumping down lightly from the bed. "Come on!" she exclaimed, gesturing towards Naruto and Katsuo.

The three of them passed the nurse on their way out and started down the corridor. They hadn't gone far when they were greeted by the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps around the corner. Naruto inwardly groaned. What was he, a target for everyone to crash into?

A red haired girl rounded the turn, eyes widening in surprise as she skidded towards an inevitable collision...

Naruto brought his hands up, grabbing onto the girl's shoulders moments before she crashed into him. Her momentum brought Naruto sliding a few steps back before he sank his weight into the ground, halting both of them.

The girl, who looked to be around his age, backpedalled quickly. "Sorry!" she yelled, before taking off again, racing down the corridor. The three teammates looked on, somewhat bemused.

"What was that?" asked Katsuo, confused. His question was answered somewhat a moment later as yet another person tore around the corner.

"Come back here, you twat!" a man wearing hospital garb shouted, rushing down the corridor after the redhead.

"Okay," Kasumi said, staring blankly ahead as the trio started walking again, down the stairs and out of the hospital. Outside, the sky was starting to get dark as the sun gradually slipped away. The three shinobi waved their respective good byes to each other as they set off in different directions.

**

* * *

**

"Impressed?"

Minato snorted. "I guess I should be. After all, you did just win the damn competition."

"Did you win when _you_ were in this body?" Naruto shot back, genuinely curious. Minato shrugged. "I did," he admitted, crossing his arms. "And I became a chunin after it. Just like you did. This timeline is working out after all."

"For an 'echo' of the real Minato you know a lot," Naruto muttered. "Just why are you even in my head?"

Minato walked over to one of the curved walls, brushing it lightly with his fingers. "To guide you," he replied, turning around. "And to make sure you don't do anything to compromise the future. In my own past, I was Naruto as well, and I had a Minato guiding me. This is something that you need to help you make decisions."

This time, it was Naruto's turn to snort. "Yeah," he drawled out slowly. "You've been guiding me."

Minato sighed. "You'll realise some day," he replied kindly.

**

* * *

**

The following morning, Naruto woke up and grabbed the scroll that was lying on his bedside table. Unfurling it, he activated the summoning. A few moments later, after a moderately sized cloud of smoke, a new chunin flak jacket lay across his knees.

Naruto stood up and made his way over to the wardrobe, pulling the door open. Seconds later, he realised that all of his normal ninja attire had either been ripped or damaged in some way.

Naruto groaned. He was going to have to replace all of his clothing. He opened a drawer and slipped on a plain, short sleeve white shirt before pulling his vest over on top of it.

It was a...strange feeling, having the jacket once more. It felt like he was whole once more. Naruto slammed the door shut and made his bed before heading towards the kitchen, fixing himself some breakfast.

After he was done, the blonde haired boy threw all of his dirty dishes into the sink, promising himself to wash up later. He pulled on his black sandals before leaving the apartment, dropping his keys into one of the front breast pockets of his chunin vest.

**

* * *

**

Today was a weekend, specifically the day that Team Jiraiya had the day off from any missions. Naruto took the opportunity to search for new equipment, spying a shinobi gear and attire shop on one of the main streets of Konoha.

He headed inside – jingling the bell as the door opened, alerting the older man who was sitting at the counter by the far side of the room. Naruto waved a small hello before turning around, browsing randomly. He picked out a few long sleeved tight blue shirts that looked rather sturdy yet comfortable, and also found another pair of sandals to replace the scuffed and worn older ones.

Heading over to the equipment section, Naruto also took a pouch of various typical ninja equipment – kunai, shuriken, wire, explosive tags and the such to replace the ones that he had lost and damaged.

Looking over at the things he had collected, Naruto nodded to himself in satisfaction and walked over to the counter, dumping his things on the bench while the storekeeper rang up his purchases. Once he had paid, Naruto went outside, leaping across the rooftops and dumping his newest acquisitions at home.

He took some time to change; pulling off the civilian class shirt he had been wearing and replacing it with the blue shirt. As he examined himself in the mirror, Naruto absently thought that it looked remarkably similar to what he had seen Minato wear in the photos Jiraiya had had.

Naruto thought he heard a snigger in the back of his head. Something told him that it belonged to Minato.

A knock on the front door alerted Naruto to a visitor. Raising his eyebrows, he finished hanging his new clothes in the wardrobe and closed the door before walking out of his bedroom. He pulled open the front door, eyes taking everything in in a matter of seconds.

Firstly, Naruto could see his teammates approaching from around the corner of the corridor out of the corner of his eye. Next, there was a strange girl standing in front of him. Lastly, there was something above his head that was about to fall!

Ninja instincts kicked in and Naruto dodged aside, whatever it was that was about to fall on him crashing to the floor where he had been standing scant moments before.

The girl pouted as bright blue paint splattered all over the carpeted floor. Naruto stared at it in faint disgust while Kasumi and Katsuo merely sidled up behind him, peering over his two shoulders.

"Hey, that's no way to greet a stranger!" the stranger exclaimed, looking put out. Naruto looked rather incredulous.

"Do you know how hard it will be for the cleaner to get _that_ out of the carpet?" he retorted, stabbing his finger at the offending paint for emphasis. "What the hell was that for anyway?"

Now that he got the chance to look at her more clearly, Naruto recognised her as the red haired girl who had nearly crashed into him back at the hospital. "You!" he exclaimed in realisation. "I've met you before!"

She scratched her head. "So you have," she replied. "Back at the hospital. Well, that was the reason for the paint. You didn't even stop to say hello!"

Naruto groaned inwardly. Another freak-o. "There's no way to say hello if you're running past at the speed of sound," he mumbled beneath his breath.

"What was that?" the girl asked, smiling all too innocently at Naruto, who tried to shift behind his teammates. They didn't budge.

"I take it you're the pranking type?" Naruto asked instead, changing the subject. The girl nodded enthusiastically, somewhat reminding Naruto of what he was like when he had been a child.

"I just arrived in Konoha," she replied. "But I can already tell it's gonna be great! Everyone around here loves a good joke or two!"

"Please to meet you too," Naruto said to a certain extent edgily, feeling somewhat uncomfortable. "I know, it's nice to meet you too!" the girl stormed on, oblivious to the sarcasm involved. "Shall we introduce ourselves? My name's Uzumaki Kushina, what about you?"

Naruto froze, slightly disbelieving what he had just heard. "What?" he choked out after a moment's pause. Kushina tilted her head at him. "What do you mean, what?" she retorted. "Are you deaf or something?"

A poke in the back reminded Naruto that he wasn't alone with his _mother in child form_ of all things. "Ummm, not to distract you two lovebirds or anything, but Jiraiya-sensei dropped by to tell us that we have a C-rank mission tomorrow, Minato," Kasumi interrupted. "He asked us to pack for less than a week."

"That's alright," Naruto replied, somewhat regaining his bearings. Kushina was now twirling the end of a strand of hair around one finger, staring up at the ceiling with fascination. As Naruto's attention once more returned to her, her head snapped around again.

"Namikaze Minato," Naruto introduced himself, before gesturing backwards at Kasumi and Katsuo. "And these two here are Kaori Kasumi and Yakushi Katsuo."

Kushina grinned maniacally. "That's great!" she whooped, punching her fist in the air. "Now I've gotten myself some guine– ahem, cohorts to have some fun with!"

Still smiling an idiotically inane smile on her face, Kushina danced away down the corridor, stopping a few doors along and bringing out a key. She shoved it into the lock before pulling open the door and disappearing from view.

"That was enlightening," Katsuo remarked as the red head left. "So, what do you want to do today?"

Stepping over the blue paint that was slowly seeping into the carpet, the three entered Naruto's apartment, all of them wincing as they imagined the cleaner meeting the blob.

**

* * *

**

The C-rank mission wasn't really that hard in itself. When the four ninja had met up at one of Konoha's gates, Jiraiya had explained the nature of the mission.

They were to deliver a scroll to the village head of one of the villages – a vassal country – situated in Fire Country. Team Jiraiya made good time, arriving at the village itself in less than a day and a half. After delivering the scroll, they spent the night in the small town before returning to Konoha. The whole operation took three and a half days, making it back to the village in record time.

Jiraiya off handedly remarked that they were working together with optimum efficiency and that he was pleased.

All three of them retorted that they had to drag him away from the hot springs just to get back to the Hidden Leaf on time.

Sarutobi listened to their oral report with a small smile on his face before dismissing them with one final remark to Naruto.

"Oh, Minato-kun?" the Sandaime asked as the team turned to leave. Naruto turned around, a questioning look on his features. "Takuma, your sensei from the Ninja Academy requested to see you as soon as you got back from your mission. He is waiting for you at the school grounds."

Naruto blinked, surprised. "Why would he want to see me?" he replied questioningly. "Did anything happen?"

The Hokage shook his head. "No, I believe it was a request of yours..." he trailed off. "Although I do think it would be in your interests to see him now."

Naruto shrugged his shoulders. "Okay," he said, turning towards his teammates as they left the Hokage Tower. "Do you guys need to leave, or would you like to come with me to the academy?"

Katsuo shook his head, looking apologetic. "Sorry, Minato," he answered. "My father is expecting me back home now and my mum will kill me if I don't get there on time..."

Kasumi indicated a 'no' as well when Naruto looked her way. "Me too," she shrugged helplessly. "Sorry!"

"That's alright," Naruto answered both of them cheerfully as he waved goodbye. "I'll see you two tomorrow!"

**

* * *

**

It was a little later than mid day when Naruto entered the academy grounds. All of the students were out in the courtyard, eating lunch and playing games when he brushed by. One particular student caught his attention: a young Kakashi was sitting by himself, looking out of place amongst the older children. He couldn't have been older than four.

Kakashi seemed to notice the eyes on him, and he looked up, staring squarely into Naruto's eyes. Naruto had to stifle a smirk. Even at his young age, Kakashi still wore his ever present mask. He broke eye contact with the younger boy a few moments later, returning his attention to the actual school in front of him.

As he was about to enter, Takuma himself emerged from within, looking slightly surprised to see Naruto. "Ah, you're here already!" he exclaimed, before beckoning him forwards. "Come. I have the things you requested me to get ready for you."

Naruto followed his previous sensei through a few of the corridors, feeling supremely confused, before they stopped before what was presumably Takuma's office. He gestured for Naruto to go in, holding the door for him.

"Here they are," Takuma announced, making a grand sweeping gesture towards a crate full of...rubber balls?

"What's...this?" Naruto asked, narrowing his eyes in confusion. Takuma blinked a few times at him. "Are you quite alright, Minato-kun?" he asked in return. "Before you left on your mission, you asked for me to deliver these to you. I have a scroll for you to seal this into if you don't want to carry it, of course..."

Still completely bewildered – after all, he hadn't asked Takuma for the balls anyway, and how did Takuma or anyone else know about his training method for Rasengan? Heck, he hadn't even _invented_ the three step process. Naruto's mouth automatically moved however, before his mind caught on.

"Thank you, Takuma-sensei," he murmured. "However, I don't need that scroll, I've got one right here."

Takuma nodded and checked the clock on the wall while Naruto busied himself with sealing the box full of rubber balls away. "Class is about to start, Minato," the brown haired chunin said. "Good luck with whatever you're doing, by the way!"

Takuma opened the door again, allowing Naruto to exit, before he turned around and locked it. "I'll see you around," he said. Naruto waved in response. "See you, Takuma-sensei."

**

* * *

**

Naruto found a use for the balls almost a month later – before, he had been working on his taijutsu as well as researching ways to help his Rasengan go along all the more faster. He started working with the rubber balls, but didn't seem to make very much progress with the second step.

Ah, well. He would have to complete it sometime.

Team Jiraiya took a few more challenging missions, ranging from a few more C-rank missions to the more vaunted B-rank.

A few more months passed by, leading up to the next Chunin Exams in which Jiraiya had nominated Katsuo to go for. As the rest of his team had already passed and become chunin, he would be joining up with another team – namely, Inoichi and Chouza as Shikaku had already passed.

The exams were to be held in Suna, which was unfortunate as it meant that neither Kasumi nor Naruto would be able to go and watch him.

During the months after the Chunin Exam, Naruto hadn't only been taking missions with Katsuo and Kasumi. He had been called upon to fill up a three man team comprised of another chunin and a jounin, and he had even led a team of two other chunin on a reconnaissance mission.

Soon the New Year passed, bringing many festivities with it as well. Kushina upped the ante with her pranks, earning the vague irritation, yet amusement of many civilians and shinobi alike. She also increased her attacks upon Naruto's door with suspended paint buckets, giving the cleaner nightmares.

It was a few weeks before Naruto's thirteenth birthday when it happened.

It was in the late afternoon, after Naruto had left the Hokage Tower after a mission. He had been walking home rather slowly, with a few things on his mind when he had felt someone fall into step with him.

"You're the one everyone has been talking about," a young sounding voice accused. Naruto looked up, surprised, meeting the _un_masked face of Kakashi.

"What?" he asked stupidly, cocking his head. Kakashi folded his arms, even though he was walking. "You know," he answered. "You're Namikaze Minato, the guy who became a chunin even though he was a rookie genin."

"That's nice," Naruto said absently, as his apartment block came into view. "What's so important about that? It's just a title."

"I'm going to enter the academy soon," Kakashi said – an apparent non sequitur. He then turned around and left, a four year old striding along with more confidence and power than his small form suggested, leaving a bemused Naruto behind.

**

* * *

**

"I'm a genin! I'm a genin!" Kushina yelled with glee as she picked the lock on his door, crashing into Naruto's apartment. It really did remind him a little of Aiko. However, Naruto merely looked up from his position at the coffee table reading a book. This kind of behaviour – that is, Kushina randomly coming into his room – was fast becoming a common occurrence, and Naruto had become almost used to it.

"Congratulations," he said dryly, turning a page. Kushina kicked off her shoes while tying on her forehead protector. After making sure it fit snugly around her forehead, she browsed around the pantry, picking out a box of biscuits and plopping herself down beside Naruto.

"So, whatcha doing?" she asked, munching loudly on the food. Naruto looked up, holding up his book as well so that she could see the title. "It's some research on shape manipulation," he replied. Kushina stuck her tongue out. "That's boring," she replied. "I'm going to be assigned to a genin team tomorrow; the old man even said it!"

"Old man?" Naruto asked curiously, putting the book down. "You mean the Hokage? He's not that old."

Kushina shrugged. "Whatever! He's still the old man to me."

"Are you going to this Chunin Exam?" Naruto questioned, snatching a biscuit out from Kushina's grasp. Kushina shook her head. "Naw, the Hokage wants me to stay behind for a little longer before he makes me do that. It's annoying!"

Kushina grabbed the television remote and turned it on, surfing the channels and spending a grand total of one second on each. Naruto watched in barely concealed amusement as she did so. At least now he knew where he had gotten his endless enthusiasm and hyperactivity from.

It was from Kushina, of course.

**

* * *

**

**Author's Notes: **So we get a time skip...hurray! Please leave a review and tell me what you think, comments, questions and corrections are always welcomed with a hug.

So now of course Kushina's finally starting to come in some more...and we get an insight into her personality. Anyway, off to bed now, toodles!

-Dream Keys


	20. Chapter 20

**Author's Notes:** NaNo's going is quite smooth so far – I'm pretty far ahead of myself, better than last year by quite a bit. So this is the first update during NaNo month, hope you all enjoy. Once again thanks for the great response last chapter and here's to a (hopefully) longer chapter.

**

* * *

**

Sakura was standing in front of Naruto, smiling. Sasuke was standing to the left and Naruto to the right, both of them glaring at each other angrily. Kakashi was behind both of them, a closed eye smile lightening his face. The camera flashed – in a moment the picture was taken, and all four of them left their positions as soon as they were done.

Abruptly, the glass shattered, shards spiralling away into the darkness and exploding into new pictures; red eyes with a ghastly shape spinning lazily inside, bright pink hair floating away, flashing lights, the pulsing laughter of a monstrous beast.

Sasuke was in Konoha, standing tall and proud with his fifteen year old teammates. Sasuke was in Konoha, destroying the village with his old teammates. Sasuke was in Konoha, destroying the village with his new teammates. Blood, gore, everywhere, throughout the entire village. No one was left alive in the massacre. Lightning flashed, an ultimate technique was born, and Konoha was destroyed. Pink splattered with red met his field of vision. A bright light was held in a hand, giving off an eerie screech of birds. A slowly fading counter of lightning, with one open red eye...

The blue diamond on a young looking face disappeared, spiralling into purple vines, twisting across the woman's face. Her features aged, wrinkles appearing, before disappearing again. Blood, red blood was all over her clothes, and there was a Kusanagi stuck through her chest. Her teammate lay next to her, red coat barely hiding red. Long, black hair fluttered around the man's shoulders as he laughed over his fallen teammates – more lightning flashed, and rain started to fall.

Yellow hair now took up his vision – blue eyes staring piercingly at him with one statement: Don't change.

A moral? A lesson? A demon roared in the distance, its red fur standing out as it raced towards Konohagakure, nine tails coiled behind it.

Naruto woke up in a cold sweat, sitting bolt upright and breathing hard. He took a deep breath before wiping the sweat off his forehead, grimacing at the wetness that he had acquired in his hand. He twisted around, looking at the red digital numbers of the clock and then looked outside, through the window.

Day had already broken over the village, despite its late coming now that it was in late winter. Naruto's lips thinned as he peered over at his clock again. It was showing the wrong time. He shuffled over so he was sitting cross legged on the bed and started adjusting the time so it fit. After he was satisfied, Naruto then swung his legs off the bed, heading into the bathroom for a wake up cold shower.

After he was done in the shower, Naruto re emerged, making a beeline straight for the kitchen and devouring the contents of the refrigerator. When he was finished with his breakfast he dumped it in the sink, glancing at his hand and shaking his head in ruefulness.

Naruto had worked hard at completing Rasengan, but his results were far from satisfying. The blasted technique would just not work for him, and multiple times he had either ended up blasting himself off his feet or burning his hand via chakra.

Doing a few arm stretches, Naruto walked to where he had left his sandals, slipping them on and heading out the door.

Jiraiya had told his team that they were going to meet up at the Hokage Tower today, so Naruto went in that particular direction. It was a relief that it was located so close to his apartment though, as it meant that Naruto could reach it at a leisurely pace instead of hurrying.

The lift was at the end of the corridor, but going that way meant that it would take a few minutes before he would be able to get out of the apartment complex. Naruto looked out to his side and grinned for a moment, opening the window and hopping out. Onto the ground, metres below, he dropped, landing in a halfway crouching posture after reinforcing his legs with chakra and lessening the impact.

Naruto started walking, confident that he would be able to reach the tower on time without having to resort to flying over rooftops. It was at an early hour, and the residents of Konoha wouldn't be out.

Naruto reached the Hokage Tower in good time, waving to the secretary as he walked past her. He then walked up the few flights of stairs to the Hokage's office. The two chunin standing outside waved him through as soon as he came into view. This meant that Jiraiya must have already been inside the office.

He nodded to the two before entering, trained senses taking in the scene as soon as the door closed behind him. Sarutobi was sitting peacefully at his table, scribbling something down on a piece of paper from the large pile beside him. Jiraiya was leaning against a wall, looking somewhat thoughtful while Kasumi was sitting on the floor in a meditative position. She turned around as soon as the door opened, smiling brightly at the sight of Naruto.

"Morning, Minato!" she greeted happily as he sat down beside her. "We're just waiting on Katsuo now. Jiraiya-sensei said we could have another out of village mission!"

Naruto's face brightened as he reached up and adjusted his forehead protector. "That's great news," he told her. "The monotony of D-ranks gets quite boring after a while." Kasumi only nodded emphatically in response.

A few minutes later, the door to the Hokage's office opened again, revealing a slightly dishevelled and harried looking Katsuo.

"Sorry I'm late," he gasped, before coming inside and closing the door behind him. "My mother held me up for a bit."

Sarutobi merely smiled at him and pushed away the paper that he was working on. Jiraiya pushed himself off the wall, looking more interested now that all three were there. The Hokage cleared his throat. "Now then...Team Jiraiya has completed quite a few C-ranks and two B-rank missions. It would appear today that D-ranks are out of the question-"

There was a resounding "No!" that rang around the room – Sarutobi stopped in amusement at the loud and forceful response.

"So I understand that the only two options left are C and B ranked missions. I have a quick one for your team – as Katsuo will be leaving for Suna soon – which happens to be a B-rank. Would you like this one?"

"What are the details?" Jiraiya replied. Sarutobi reached over and pulled a small clipboard out, reading it out. "It's an assassination mission to the borders of Kusa – in a village named Futeki Osore. You are to assassinate a politician named Kenpai."

"Absolutely not," Jiraiya said. As if to punctuate this, Katsuo, Kasumi and Naruto all looked at each other in vague unease. "They are not ready enough to take a mission of this level."

"But I believe they are," Sarutobi replied, giving Naruto a look as he said the words. Naruto understood almost immediately, and the thought angered him. Sarutobi was using this mission to test Naruto's strength if he wasn't mistaken – to see how far he had come in the years he had spent in Konoha. Naruto's eyes narrowed in anger. Why would Sarutobi do this? He would not forsake two other ninja just to see what Naruto could do – for that was simply not in the nature of the Sandaime.

"Don't you trust your students?" the Hokage asked Jiraiya, and the subtle guilt trip was unnoticed by all except for Naruto. "Do you not trust them enough to send them out on a mission like this? If they experience it now it will not be as bad the next time, and you will have ninja who are truly prepared for the life out there."

"How cynical," Jiraiya retorted. "Send another team, preferably a jounin cell. I'm not sending my students into this."

"There only has to be one person to...assassinate this man, right?" Kasumi voiced uncertainly. "Why not just have Jiraiya-sensei do it while we get the experience from it?"

It was a crass and rather brazen sentence coming from Kasumi, but it did seem to have the effect of amusing Jiraiya. "Aren't there any other missions, C-rank ones, preferably?" he asked Sarutobi instead.

Both Kasumi and Katsuo had killed before – they had in the first few months of their genin career, on a C-rank mission in northern Fire Country. Kasumi had used a stealth method to sneak up behind a woman and had knocked her out before throwing her unconscious body into the river. Katsuo on the other hand, had murdered two men in a melee fight with nothing more than a handful of kunai.

However, none of this compared to actually having the objective of the mission being to actually kill a man.

"There aren't," Sarutobi replied. "The ones I do have are either too difficult for shinobi of your students' calibre, or are extended missions that will give you enough time to get Katsuo back in time for the Chunin Exams. Now, as I said before, if you would like a D-rank I can arrange one for you..."

"No. That's out of the question!" Katsuo muttered. Jiraiya gave him an annoyed look before glancing back up at Sarutobi. "Fine. We'll take the blasted mission," he scowled. Sarutobi smiled back at him, his eyes lighting up in contentment. "Then you can spend the rest of the day resting, or doing whatever you wish. Your mission starts tomorrow early in the morning." He handed a scroll with the mission details to Naruto, who was sitting the closest to him. "Dismissed, Team Jiraiya."

The four of them left the Hokage Tower, heading towards the training grounds. However, instead of the normal ones Team Jiraiya used, Jiraiya steered them towards the chunin grounds which were more extensive with a wider range of environment and landscape. They neared the first training ground and entered, bringing back memories – Naruto had been 'six' when he had first seen these grounds – subsequently, it had also been the first time he had met Katsuo and his father, Tetsuya.

Jiraiya led the team in, closing the gate behind him and motioning for them to sit down in the shade. The white haired Sannin sighed. "I suppose it's time to give you at least a basic introduction to assassination," he said, before sighing again. "It's not at all like when _I_ was a genin..." Jiraiya muttered to himself.

Straightening, he placed his hands on his knees and began his introduction. "Assassination is a very precise art," Jiraiya started. "There are two major categories for any assassin to know, however." He held up a finger. "The first is called a 'silent' kill. This is because the intention is to make it seem as if the target died of natural reasons. These kinds are most often used when governments are in a politically delicate situation and need a bit of tweaking here and there. However, the kind of assassination _we_ will be attempting on our mission is the 'loud' kill. _These _methods are used to broadcast a kill – this means we can leave obvious traces of death by assassination on the target."

"Why would someone want this guy – Kenpai – dead?" Kasumi asked. "Who would want him dead, for that matter?"

"We're not supposed to learn that kind of information on missions," Naruto replied. "The client is always unknown to the ninja when it comes to specialised assassination missions."

After a bemused look from Katsuo, Naruto shrugged his shoulders. "What? I learnt it from a scroll."

And it was true. Naruto _had_ learned it – after Jiraiya had flung one at his head after he complained about assassination years ago. Naruto shoved the fond memories aside. "Anyway, Ero-sennin," he said. "Carry on."

Jiraiya idly played with a blade of grass near his feet. "Although this type of assassination is known as the 'loud' kill, this doesn't necessarily mean you have to be noisy about it. What you don't want to go for is a broken neck or a thrust to the chest. Those are both loud and...messy, respectively."

He ripped up the blade of grass, flicking it lazily towards Naruto, who snatched it out of mid air. "Instead, just go for a knife to the throat, or even decapitation if it suits you. Both are quieter, but still obvious."

"Does killing ever get easier?" Katsuo asked, and the mood suddenly turned sombre. Jiraiya turned his eyes towards the genin, remembering the results of the Second Great Shinobi World War.

He shrugged. "Some say it does. If you're an experienced jounin, it's easier for you than for a rookie genin. But all you need to do is make sure you never start enjoying your kills. This is what keeps us Konoha ninja human, unlike the Mist ninja from Water Country."

The rest of the morning passed with Kasumi leaning in interestedly and asking why Jiraiya made such a specific reference to the Kiri nin. Jiraiya replied by starting to talk about Kirigakure's crazy and twisted graduation ceremony – much to the disgust of the black haired kunoichi.

When lunch finally rolled around, Jiraiya stood and stretched, massaging the back of his neck with a hand. "It's time to get some food in me," he announced, walking off. Katsuo threw a senbon needle at him in exasperation. "You could at least tell us where we're going to meet up next," he retorted. Jiraiya used the heel of his palm to slap the flat side of the senbon away. "Sure, sure," he replied. "Just come back here in an hour or something."

**

* * *

**

Jiraiya always left the team on their own for lunch – he preferred to pack his own food, eating it while doing some local 'research'. On the other hand, Naruto, Kasumi and Katsuo nearly always ate together, either at a fancy restaurant (which in actuality wasn't _that_ expensive) or at Ichiraku's for comfort food.

This was one of the occasions that Team Jiraiya decided to visit the ramen stand. Naruto was always slightly amused to see the stand owner – Teuchi – for he looked _young_, especially compared to what Naruto knew from his own time. His teammates, Katsuo and Kasumi, always sent him odd glances when they caught him stifling his laughter.

"I don't quite get what is with you and ramen," Kasumi said exasperatedly as Naruto finished his third bowl before they were halfway through their first. "It's like an addiction with you."

Naruto shrugged, actually bothering to wipe at his lips with a clean napkin before responding. "Of course," he replied rather indignantly. "Ramen is possibly the best food ever to grace the continent. And Ichiraku's is the best."

Teuchi laughed, a light sound that bubbled forth. "You give me too much credit, Minato," he said fondly. "Anyway, eat up. I take it you have some form of mission or training after this? You need all the energy you can get!"

"Ramen doesn't give you energy or proteins," Katsuo informed Naruto, who was now well on his fourth bowl. "It's not the best food to eat just before a physical training session."

"Who said we were going to be training our bodies?" Naruto asked inquisitively, wiping his hands. "Ero-sennin never said anything about that."

"It's the logical conclusion," Kasumi replied in Katsuo's stead. She was about to continue, explaining precisely why she thought they were going to have a physical training session, when Naruto jumped out of his seat, pushing some bills out of his wallet to Teuchi.

"Oh, look at the time!" he exclaimed, pointing towards an imaginary watch on his wrist. "We've got to get going back to the training grounds!"

With that, Naruto sprinted away, and when he was halfway across the street he jumped onto a nearby rooftop and started springing away. Kasumi sighed as she sent a sidewards glance at Katsuo and started to follow him.

"No one ever said we had to be back at the training ground in half an hour's time either," she sighed again.

**

* * *

**

It was nearly an hour before Jiraiya arrived back at the grounds. During this time, the three children could be seen doing push ups, sit ups and running up and down trees for chakra control. By the time an hour had elapsed, Kasumi, Katsuo and Naruto were lying underneath the shade of a large native Konoha tree with the sun directly above them in the sky. Fortunately, the tree's leafy branches blotted out most of it.

All three members of the team seemed to be asleep when Jiraiya arrived. He rubbed his hands together in glee, intent on tying them up and giving them a nice, stern lecture on not sleeping in full view – what if a foreign ninja had snuck up on them while they were sleeping? – and crept closer, a silent shadow.

He approached slowly, and smiled as he came into an arm's length range. He touched Katsuo's hand, attempting to drag him over to the trunk of a tree when he felt something.

Perhaps it was because of his war honed senses – or perhaps it was due to his own instincts or luck, but Jiraiya felt something was wrong as soon as he walked into a one metre perimeter around the three. Something tugged on his foot, and he looked down just in time to see two hands snaking around his ankles, pulling him into the dirt.

"Doton: Shinjū Zanshu no Jutsu."

The voice spoke from behind him, but Jiraiya couldn't turn his head around to _see_ who it was. The voice, however, was unmistakably Kasumi's and Jiraiya could feel himself sigh in relief. So it wasn't an ambush by foreign nin. The paranoid part of him relaxed.

The three 'sleepers' exploded into clouds of smoke, and Jiraiya scowled. Damn that damnable Minato, playing around with shadow clones again.

As if on cue, the blonde haired brat and his other male teammate fell from the trees, landing on the ground barely a metre away from where Jiraiya was rendered immobile. The sound of clopping sandals could be heard as Kasumi walked around Jiraiya's head and squatted down beside him. Jiraiya refrained from making any lewd comments – the girl had him prisoner at the moment, and it would do no good to antagonise her, student or no.

"So I take it you weren't caught unaware," Jiraiya laughed weakly, darting his glance between the three. "That's very good news."

"And bad news for you, I'm afraid," Kasumi informed him, sitting down cross legged on the ground. "For you see, I have a bone to pick with you about your...peeking tendencies."

Once again, Jiraiya laughed feebly. He didn't have a very good feeling about this.

"So, anyway..." Kasumi brought out a kunai and started absently sharpening it with a small whetstone from her equipment pouch. Jiraiya gulped as the kunai came dangerously close to his ear. He prepared for a lot of hurt, and squeezed his eyes shut, only to open them to...

Nothing. His three students were gone from the small patch of shade, and Jiraiya blinked in confusion, only to flinch as three kunai rained down from the sky, impaling themselves in the ground beside Jiraiya. He looked up to see the brats grinning down at him before dropping down onto the floor, helping him out of his earthy prison.

"We had you fooled the entire time, sensei," Kasumi informed him. "Even if you had gotten out of the decapitation technique and attacked us you still wouldn't have gotten the _real_ us. Those were just Minato's clones again.

"Minato's clones," Jiraiya mumbled to himself. "Always Minato's clones..."

An unfamiliar presence dropped out of the sky, landing before the four ninja. "Apologies from Hokage-sama," the chunin who had just arrived said, before bowing slightly. "But he has specifically requested Minato-san to come to his office immediately."

Naruto straightened, looking at the messenger questioningly. "What is it for?" he asked the chunin, who shrugged. "I do not know the details, but I _do_ know that he wanted to talk with you as soon as possible."

Naruto looked to Jiraiya, who merely gave him a one shouldered shrug. "Go on then, Minato," he said. "I was about to get the four of us to spar against each other, but I think I'll just get Kasumi and Katsuo to team up against me."

Naruto grinned before giving his two teammates the thumbs up. "Go and kick that perverted sage's ass," he commanded them, before leaving with the chunin messenger.

**

* * *

**

"What do you think his reaction will be?"

The silver haired jounin turned around to face Sarutobi, a hand running thoughtfully along his jaw. "Well, no doubt angry for being summoned away from his team during a practice session," Sakumo stated matter of factly. "But otherwise, I can't be too sure. I still can't believe what you just told me...it just seems impossible."

"It's all true, every word of it," Sarutobi promised the White Fang. "Believe me."

"You decided to trust the word of a child?" Sakuma pressed on dubiously. "It seems highly unlikely to me. What if he was lying?" Sarutobi shook his head, folding his arms over his desk.

"Minato is not one to lie," he replied. "I truly believe every word of his was sincere. Many things he described to me...they have come true. I trust him."

Sakumo shrugged helplessly. "I don't really know the child myself," he defended himself. "Would you like me to...?"

There was a knock at the door, and Sarutobi flicked his eyes towards it before glancing back at Sakumo. He nodded, and Sakumo walked towards a corner of the office before using a ninja technique to blend back against the wall, cutting off all of his chakra flow at the same time.

"Come in," Sarutobi called. The door opened to reveal Naruto, who strode in purposefully. The door slammed shut behind him.

"What did you want to see me for?" Naruto got straight to the point. In the corner, hidden by the shadow, Sakumo raised his eyebrows in surprise. Not many people addressed the Third Hokage in such a manner.

However, Sarutobi merely smiled, and gestured towards a seat that Naruto took. "You seemed rather...angry when I announced your mission this morning," he prompted. Naruto's eyes narrowed before he nodded sharply. "So that is what this meeting is all about..." he muttered.

"You have no need to worry for your teammates," Sarutobi said. "Although this is a B rank mission, I have been assured that the security around the target is rather lax. Your team should have no trouble at all, and the mission itself would have been a C rank if not for the assassination involved."

Naruto was gripping the armrests of his chair so tightly that his knuckles were white. "But that's exactly it," he retorted. "You're sending a team of kids only one year out from the academy to complete an assassination mission. Are you out of your mind?"

Now Sakumo's eyebrows rose to his hairline. Definitely, no one had ever talked to the Sandaime in this way before. But just like last time, Sarutobi merely brushed the rudeness away with naught but a wave of his hand.

"You live in a truly idealistic world, _Naruto_," the Sandaime said, putting special emphasis on his real name. Naruto's eyes widened. When the Hokage had spoken just then, he had sounded so old...

"In this world of shinobi, people die every day. Most of the time it's from a murder. Eventually, your two teammates will have to face an assassination mission anyway – is it so bad to have to face it at a younger age? It truly does prepare them for the life that lies ahead."

Naruto shook his head. "I don't believe in you," he muttered. "You wouldn't send my team on this mission if I wasn't on it, would you?"

Sarutobi chuckled dryly. "If you weren't on this team you wouldn't have been ready for the chunin exams. And if you hadn't been in the chunin exams none of you would have become a chunin. If none of you had become chunin, then I wouldn't be offering this B rank to you. So yes, it all adds up in the end...in a roundabout sort of way."

"I wasn't talking about it that way," Naruto said, but he got the feeling that Sarutobi wasn't really listening. This was so different to what the Sandaime had been like in his own time! Sarutobi wouldn't have been this harsh, this cruel...

"I'm not being cruel to you or your teammates, Minato," Sarutobi said, as if reading his mind. Naruto's head whipped around and he stared at his village's leader. "If what you say is true, then there will soon be a war. And if there is a war, would you really want to send your teammates in there without being prepared?"

"I'd rather not send them in there at all," Naruto replied. The Third laughed again. "You're being idealistic again, Minato," he reminded Naruto. "Think about reality. In this war...the Third Great Shinobi World War...many lives will be lost, will there not?"

The question was phrased almost like a statement if not for the slight lift of tone at the end of the sentence. Naruto nodded reluctantly. Sarutobi softly smiled.

"I'm sorry for making you feel this way, Naruto," he said quietly. "But I am only trying to help you and your teammates."

Naruto stood up. "Thank you for your time," he said rather stiffly, heading for the door. He had come to a realisation – although he acted a kind and wise, benevolent man, Sarutobi really did have a mind of steel, commandeering the puppets with a lift of his finger.

Hokage though he may be, Sarutobi Hiruzen was a manipulative man, despite his words.

They were all correct, true, but they also rang false to Naruto. No. Sarutobi would have only sent them to see how Naruto himself would do. Naruto tried to convince himself of that.

He swept the door open, exiting the Hokage's office and came face to face with Kakashi, who was walking down the corridor opposite to him. He waved a small hand in greeting and Naruto felt a small smile grace his own face, waving back at the child. "Afternoon," he murmured to Kakashi before passing him. Kakashi continued onwards without looking back, but Naruto could feel his eyes at his back.

It was a relief to leave the Hokage Tower.

**

* * *

**

Jiraiya, Katsuo and Kasumi were waiting for him outside of the Hokage Tower. Jiraiya explained to him that he had just gone through a few spars with his teammates before heading out of the training field to wait for Naruto.

"What was that meeting all about?" Katsuo asked curiously. Kasumi also craned her head, peering at Naruto carefully. Naruto, on the other hand, was distinctly uncomfortable and Jiraiya could feel it. "Now, now," he exclaimed cheerfully. "Lay off the poor brat for a while, it's obvious he's traumatised from his visit to the Hokage. Now! Let's go and get some dinner into us!"

Naruto could see Jiraiya looking at him from out of the corner of his eye, and he smiled gratefully at him when he felt his teammates' inquisitive stares leave his face. "Where are we going for food?" Naruto asked.

Jiraiya stopped, and Naruto nearly ran into his back. The white haired pervert made a grand gesture towards a small store on the side of the street. "Right here!" he exclaimed, ducking under the flaps and entering.

The three walked in after him, looking rather displeased with the surrounds they found themselves in. "A bar?" Kasumi asked disbelievingly, looking around herself. "You took us to a bar? Maybe I should have rethought stabbing you with a kunai."

Jiraiya chuckled nervously. "No need to continue," he tried to calm her down. "Anyway, my old teammates are here. We're going to have a great time, the six of us together."

At the mention of Jiraiya's teammates, Naruto looked up sharply. A strange feeling made its way to the pit of his stomach as he saw where their sensei was leading them. Sure enough, a _very _familiar long black haired man was sitting next to a blonde haired woman...Naruto tensed, suddenly feeling extremely uncomfortable in the presence of Orochimaru.

"What's the matter, Minato?" Jiraiya inquired, taking a seat against the wall with his teammates. He gestured towards the other side for Naruto, Kasumi and Katsuo to sit. "Anyway, I may have introduced you already –"

"You haven't," Orochimaru interrupted softly. Naruto felt a stab of anger at the man's Konoha forehead protector and flak jacket, but disguised it quickly. No need to arouse anyone's suspicion after all...and besides, the snake Sannin hadn't even defected yet and it remained to be seen if he would – oh, who was he kidding?

Naruto just knew Orochimaru was the bad guy – it was impossible for the man to be anything but evil.

Jiraiya ordered some sake from a waiter as he passed by, while Kasumi, Naruto and Katsuo asked for juice, much to the amusement of Tsunade and Orochimaru.

"This one here is Orochimaru," Jiraiya announced, clapping his hand over the other male Sannin's shoulder. Orochimaru shrugged it off with an air of indifference, but it was as plain as daylight to everyone who was watching that the black haired man was quite amused at his friend's antics. "And this busty blonde here is my other teammate, Tsunade. Bew –"

He didn't get to finish his sentence as Tsunade raised a fist and bashed him over the head. Kasumi cocked her head. "Is that wise? He might become even more stupid than he already is."

Tsunade laughed. "I like you already, kid," she said, taking a large gulp out of her sake saucer. "It won't do any good, I'm afraid. Jiraiya's already too far gone to even possibly think of more."

Jiraiya sat up, moaning and grabbing his head. "I was about to say 'Beware of the insane power behind her punches'," he mumbled, taking a swig from the sake bottle itself.

The rest of the evening passed in a pleasurable manner – even for Naruto, who managed to relax somewhat around the snake Sannin. However, he got the feeling that Orochimaru knew that he was tense around him, and was thus quite wary.

"So anyway, my cute little students," Jiraiya spoke with a half slur to his voice. He had had a little bit too much to drink, apparently. "We have a lovely mission tomorrow, so I thiiink..."

His head dropped to the table and he started drooling.

With an irritated expression, Tsunade whacked him over the head again, startling Jiraiya back to consciousness. "Wha? Anyway, as I was saying, you three should get a good night's sleep. We'll be leaving very, very early in the morning tomorrow..."

His head fell once again and he started snoring. Tsunade ignored him but instead turned to the three kids. "So what kind of a mission do you have?" she asked curiously, resting her elbow on Jiraiya's inert body and propping her chin onto her hand.

"A B-rank," Katsuo replied for all three of them. Orochimaru and Tsunade's eyebrows rose. "So soon?" Orochimaru inquired. "You must be quite skilled for Sarutobi-sensei to ask you to complete a B rank at such a young age."

"Well, Jiraiya was right about one thing. It is getting quite late in the evening, and it seems you'll be getting up early tomorrow for your mission. You three should get a good night's sleep," Tsunade informed them. "Good luck for your mission tomorrow."

Naruto, Katsuo and Kasumi stood, saying their goodbyes to the two conscious Sannin and left the bar, going their separate ways home.

**

* * *

**

Naruto entered his apartment, stumbling over a spare pair of sandals as he walked through the threshold. Scowling, he flicked the lights on and kicked the aforementioned footwear out of the way before slamming the door shut. Naruto then turned on the kitchen tap, pouring some water for himself and gulped it down.

After brushing his teeth, Naruto changed into his pyjamas before crawling into his bed, accepting the easy bliss of sleep.

**

* * *

**

He woke up in the morning to the sound of his alarm blaring in his ear. Irritated, Naruto slammed his hand down on the machine before swinging his legs off the bed, checking the conditions outside of his window. To his dismay, it was raining and looked as if it was going to continue for some time. Mumbling incoherently to himself, Naruto stalked over to his closet and drew out his standard clothes, slipping them on before making his bed.

He made himself a small breakfast before packing his supplies for the mission ahead. Several small summoning scrolls were slipped into the bag, along with extra shinobi weapon supplies and a fresh bottle of water.

Naruto weighed the back to make sure it wouldn't impede on his travelling much, and to his satisfaction it weighed exactly what he had hoped for. Devouring the last of his food, he walked over to the sink, dumping the dishes in before turning on the hot water and scrubbing away.

Five minutes later Naruto was done. He checked over himself, mentally running over a checklist. When he was finally satisfied, he slipped on his sandals and walked out of the door.

Naruto knew it was early, and thus hadn't expected anyone else to be out and about at this time of the morning unless they were either freakish or a shinobi. And of course, only a few shinobi lived in the apartment complex that Naruto inhabited...

Kushina was ambling down the hallway, occasionally muttering to herself under her breath. She was still wearing her night wear and had her hair out, occasionally bringing up her hands to clutch at it. It was all rather frightful to Naruto, who at first thought Kushina was sleepwalking.

"Ehh...Kushina?" he ventured, falling into step with her. The red head turned around so fast Naruto feared that she had gotten whiplash. "Minato!" she exclaimed. "Um...nice to see you about this early in the morning?"

Naruto shrugged. "I've got a mission and I have to be at the gate by a specific time. What about you? You don't look like you're going anywhere anytime soon."

Kushina flushed a dull red, before turning her head to her side. "I couldn't sleep," she muttered quietly. "Nightmares and all of that. You know..."

"O-oh." Naruto didn't really know what to say here – he had never really had much experience with this. "Are you alright now?"

At this question, Kushina barked out a laugh which was rather startling to Naruto, who started a little. "Oh, I'm fine," she replied, although to Naruto it was...obvious that she was not.

"You're going to be late for your mission if you stick around any longer," Kushina prompted, staring out of the window and wincing in sympathy. "Have fun in the rain, though," she finally grinned. Naruto smiled too, happy that he had made her smile.

"Thanks a lot," he said dryly. "Anyway, I'll see you soon!"

Naruto jogged past her into the elevator and took the lift down. When he reached the ground floor he raced out, wincing as the first drops of rain hit him. Naruto's speed increased as he tried a futile attempt to dodge the raindrops.

Katsuo dropped out of the sky to land toe to toe with Naruto, looking at him oddly. "What on earth are you doing?" he asked, looking puzzled to no end. Naruto sighed and slowed down again, ceasing his attempts. "Nothing," he replied sullenly. "The rain is too fast."

With a final, odd look at his friend, Katsuo continued on. The two raced towards the gate in a companionable silence.

**

* * *

**

**Author's Notes: **Sorry for the long wait, guys...not only was I aiming for a longer chapter length but I was tied up with trying to get ahead of NaNo for a while. Now that I'm three days ahead of myself though, I think I'll take it a bit easier and give myself more time for fanfiction. At least, that's what I'm hoping for. Thanks to everyone's positive reviews, and hope you enjoyed this chapter!

-Dream Keys

Kusanagi: Kusanagi Sword: Long Sword of the Heavens

Futeki Osore: A village near the borders of Grass Country (Literal meaning: Fearless fear)

Doton: Shinjū Zanshu no Jutsu: Earth Release: Double Suicide Decapitation Technique


	21. Chapter 21

**Author's Notes:** So yes. I am back (but not officially until November is over) with a new chapter. I hope everyone enjoyed the last chapter, and thank you to everyone who reviewed! Right now my November's being mean to me – fanfiction, NaNo and exams, yummy! Sorry this chapter's really, really late!

Anyway...

Hopefully you enjoy this chapter. Questions, comments, reviews, and corrections are greatly appreciated and treasured in my email inbox! Happy reading, everyone!

**

* * *

**

Katsuo and Naruto reached the western gate in a matter of minutes. It was still raining quite heavily as they got there – actually, it had increased by the time the western gate came into view. Kasumi was already there, waiting underneath the shelter of the front gate guards' hut. The two chunin who were on duty were already sitting behind the counter, one of them dozing off on the job.

Kasumi stood up from where she was leaning against the wall as soon as the soaking wet figures of Naruto and Katsuo emerged from the rain. "Where's the pervert?" were the first words that came from her mouth as soon as the two boys caught their breath.

Katsuo gave her a one shouldered shrug as he shook the water out of his hair. Droplets sprayed all over the place, resulting in Kasumi wearing a rather disgusted expression on her face while she wiped the water right back onto Katsuo in a childish manner.

A tall, hulking figure just visible in the steadily increasing downpour was lumbering towards them – the three all sighed in exasperation. "You're late, Jiraiya-sensei!" they all shouted.

Jiraiya held out his hands in a pacifying manner, completely oblivious to the rain that was soaking his clothes through. "Whatever!" he brushed off Naruto, Katsuo and Kasumi's complaints, peering out into the dense forest that was outside Konoha. "Shall we get going then?"

"Let's go," Kasumi said, taking one step out from underneath the shelter. As soon as she did so, she grimaced. "Rain..." Kasumi muttered. "What a coincidence for it to rain at this part of the year."

The one conscious chunin awake waved a farewell to them as they walked out of the gates. "Have a safe trip!" he called out. "Return home soon!"

Jiraiya turned around, now walking backwards. "Thanks!" he shouted back, raising a hand. Then he turned back around, heading after his wayward students who had already leapt off ahead into the tall cedar trees.

The trip turned out to be rather dreary. The tree tops provided enough adequate cover for the team that they could actually see properly. Not much got through the thick leaves and branches at the top. However, it didn't mean that the journey was comfortable. The odd raindrop here would splash in front, or sometimes on the four members of Team Jiraiya, and the branches were already slippery. All in all, they were not travelling in the best of conditions.

"Hopefully you won't be travelling in this kind of weather to Suna, right, Katsuo?" Kasumi remarked, blinking as a remarkably large drop of water landed on her arm. She wiped it off with her other hand, shivering a little. At the next resting spot they had, she would pull on a jumper.

"Would that really happen?" Katsuo replied doubtfully, eyeing the canopy above. "I mean, the Sand Village _is_ a desert, after all."

Jiraiya half turned his head around. "That doesn't stop it from raining _before_ you reach Wind Country though," he countered. Katsuo paused, thinking that particular thought over, before shrugging, dismissing it. "I'll just have to see for myself when the time comes," he concluded.

"I wonder if that Sand team will be participating in this exam," Kasumi wondered out loud, remembering her fight with the blonde haired Suna kunoichi. Katsuo winced. "I hope not," he muttered. "I don't stand a chance against them."

"Oh, cheer up!" Naruto exclaimed, waving his arms around. "It's a nice, gloomy day, it's soaking wet, _we're_ soaking wet, and we're talking about being beaten by a couple of desert ninja. I sense something wrong with this picture."

Kasumi rolled her eyes at Naruto's antics. "All three of them are pretty good," she said, ignoring his words. "Especially the guy who uses the sand, the one who Minato beat. Although I guess all you really need to do is use that seal Jiraiya-sensei taught us."

"That _is_ right," Naruto admitted. "When I put the seal over him, he lost control over all of his fighting ability since he hadn't bothered in training in anything else. But the problem is getting under his defence first – if you can't get past the sand you won't be able to stick a seal on him."

"Speaking of that particular seal," Jiraiya interrupted. The three students looked up to their white haired teacher. "Minato, you were pretty good with that seal. Have you ever had any instruction in them before?"

_Yes,_ Naruto's mind called. "No," he said. "That was the first time I'd ever used a seal like that – before, I'd only read about them in the Konoha library."

Jiraiya nodded. "I might teach you more about seals later on," he decided. "Perhaps when we return from this mission. There's no need to let good talent go to waste, after all."

Naruto grinned at the praise, happy that he had been acknowledged by Jiraiya. "Thanks, Ero-sennin," he replied. Jiraiya rolled his eyes. "There you go again, disrupting this wonderful moment with your talk of perverts," he muttered under his breath. Naruto merely smirked, before turning back around.

**

* * *

**

Sakumo quietly opened the door to the Hokage Tower's reception area, nodding to the secretary as he entered. It was mid morning, but the grey haired man had been awake for a while. He had received a messenger from the Hokage – the reason why he was here.

Sakumo climbed the steps, thinking about the upcoming meeting with Sarutobi. There could only be two possible options for this talk – one would be to continue their talk from yesterday about certain..._events,_ and the other reason...well, Sarutobi would be giving him a mission.

The grey haired man was not afraid of missions – after all, he had completed more than a handful of S ranked missions, and his name was feared even more than all of the three legendary Sannin together. However, he would avoid these missions if he could. No one particularly liked risking their neck to complete some risky mission, but Sakumo was a patriotic man, meaning that if duty called, he would answer in the best possible way he could.

Two chunin were once again standing by the doors. Sakumo idly wondered if they ever got bored of being stationed here, for it seemed that the same two ninja were always here, guarding the office of the Hokage.

One of the two shinobi nodded at him as Sakumo walked in between them, lifting a hand and rapping swiftly on the door. Unseen to the two lower ranked shinobi, he frowned. Although he couldn't fault them – for it must have been an extremely tedious job – they had not even _looked_ at Sakumo twice. What if he was an imposter?!

The two couldn't have possibly known, of course, but that was beside the point. Shinobi were supposed to be naturally wary creatures – that was how they survived amongst a bloody and war torn world, rife with men and women alike vying for power wherever they could.

"Come in." The voice from within spoke out a command instead of an invitation, and Sakumo turned the handle quietly before striding in. Summarily, he closed the door behind him, although the clacking of wood against wood was almost inaudible. Sakumo bowed before walking forwards so he was standing closer to the leader of his village. "Hokage-sama."

Contrary to what he was usually doing in his office, Sarutobi was seated facing away from Sakumo, a calligraphy brush in his hand while he inked in confident brush strokes along a canvas seated upon an easel. However, as Sakumo spoke, the Sandaime placed his brush down very carefully before turning around. His customary pipe was stuck in his mouth, even while he drew. Sakumo suppressed a small smile.

"Sakumo," Sarutobi replied in his own way of greeting. "How are you?"

Sakumo's initial amusement vanished almost immediately, although none of his thoughts deigned to show themselves upon his face. No, Sakumo was too experienced to let that sort of thing happen, although he was quite sure that Sarutobi knew what he was thinking anyway. The older man was almost scarily intuitive. "I am well," he replied, and if his voice came out somewhat stiff Sarutobi didn't notice or call him on it. He hated the way that Sarutobi danced around issues so much.

However, the Third smiled instead, gesturing towards a chair. "Take a seat, Sakumo," he invited. Sakumo sat, hands crossed across his lap. "What did you want to see me for, Hokage-sama?" he stated bluntly. Sarutobi waved a hand in the air. "Sarutobi, Sakumo. Call me Sarutobi." The Hokage took a small puff on his pipe, blowing out a thin wisp of smoke before continuing. "Cutting right to the chase, are we?"

Sakumo grunted. "A mission, or a talk?" he asked. Sarutobi eyed the other man, not speaking for a moment. Then, after a minute of silence, he opened his mouth, placing his pipe down on the desk.

"A mission," he replied simply. "This is a matter I simply cannot miss – and your assistance would be very much helpful."

"And?" Sakumo's voice was now clearly rigid. Once again, Sarutobi waved his reply away. "But that is not all," he said, watching the way Sakumo's back stiffened ever so slightly. "How is your son, by the way, Sakumo?" he asked the jounin.

"What do you want to know about Kakashi?" Sakumo retorted back at him. "What are you planning to do with my son?"

Sarutobi shrugged, a motion that he rarely made. "He is quite a talented young man, isn't he?" he replied instead, ignoring Sakumo's question. "Only five years old, and already quite talented in the ninja arts."

Sakumo's eyes narrowed. "You want me to send him to the academy." His voice was frosty. "Do you know how traumatising being a shinobi is for _anyone,_ let alone a small boy? What, precisely, are you thinking, Hokage-sama?!"

"You heard Minato just yesterday," Sarutobi merely replied. "A war, correct? If Kakashi-kun is not prepared by then, you cannot protect him forever. You yourself will be out, fighting in this war, completing missions. You won't be at home. What will happen if there is a sneak attack? What will you do, Sakumo?"

Sakumo hated this. He hated the way that Sarutobi was twisting this, twisting the facts around until they resembled nothing like their former appearance. "What if Minato was wrong?" he asked instead, the words hissed out from behind clenched teeth. "What if there will be no war?"

Sarutobi laughed, a dry sound that resounded around the small office. "Be quite assured, Sakumo," he murmured in a low voice. "This war will happen. And Minato has already told me of the importance of keeping the timeline true. If something does happen..."

"It will be my fault?"

"I suppose you could put it that way," Sarutobi replied, a soft smile upon his lips. Sakumo scowled. "I get it," he muttered. "You want me to enrol Kakashi in the ninja academy? Fine – but don't expect him to do well in a class full of people three years older than him."

Sarutobi waved a hand around airily. "I'm sure people can be assigned to help Kakashi-kun if he has trouble adjusting," he said, as if Kakashi's wellbeing didn't even matter.

Sakumo sighed heavily, all of the fight draining out of him. "I understand, Hokage-sama," he muttered lowly. And he did understand – no matter how hard the Hokage could seem, no matter how much steel was behind his words, Sarutobi would always grieve silently for each and every life that was shattered while still issuing new orders, forcing them to once again pick up their weapons and fight.

Sarutobi breathed out heavily, a great gust of wind expelling from his mouth. "Thank you, Sakumo," he said in gratitude. Suddenly, the tense atmosphere was broken again.

"It's alright," Sakumo replied wearily, before once again sitting up straight. "Anyway...what is this mission?"

Sarutobi looked him straight in the eye. "I want you to infiltrate Kumogakure," he said, after a long pause. There was another lapse, before Sakumo's eyes bugged out.

"You want me to _what?_" he asked incredulously. "We are at an unofficial, fragile peace with the Cloud as it is. Now you want me to _spy_ on them?"

Sarutobi blew out some smoke, waiting for Sakumo to calm down. When the other man finally settled back into his seat, the Third Hokage explained. "There have been recent events that are rather troubling to me," he began. "Jiraiya has reported to me that several Kumo ninja have been seen wandering around, and not just in Fire Country."

Sarutobi paused, before lacing his fingers together and resting his chin on them, the pipe still firmly in his mouth. "Do you remember what happened six years ago?" he asked, a sudden change of subject.

Sakumo shook his head slowly. "What?"

"One of our rookie, but promising jounin was killed on a mission to a village situated near the Earth Country and Wind Country's borders," Sarutobi replied, jogging Sakumo's memory.

Realisation hit the younger man. "Aiko-san," he said immediately, remembering the young black haired kunoichi. Sarutobi nodded grimly. "Aiko was sent on a C rank mission to the Fuchidori village with two other chunin, to retrieve a scroll for Jiraiya."

"Who was she killed by?" Sakumo asked, half guessing the answer already.

"Kumo nin," Sarutobi answered, confirming the grey haired shinobi's fear. "I found this extremely odd. Kaminari no Kuni is situated more to the north _east,_ while Fuchidori is in the west. What would Cloud ninja be doing so far away from their homeland? And what would they be doing attacking Konoha nin?"

"Surely you don't think..." Sakumo allowed himself to trail off, looking up expectantly at the Hokage. Sarutobi nearly sighed, bringing a hand across his face. "Yes," he said wearily. "This is why I want you to investigate this. I'm allowing you to have some freedom over your teammates – however, I don't want anyone below jounin to participate in this mission. Choose only those who you truly trust. This mission is hereby classified as an S rank mission."

He stopped and paused before gesturing for Sakumo to lean closer. "Oh, and if you happen to..."

The rest of the command was spoken in whispers, almost inaudibly.

Sakumo nodded. "I'll leave tomorrow at dawn," he said, before rising out of his chair. "Good bye, Hokage-sama."

Sarutobi watched him leave. When Sakumo was at the door, the Hokage called out a reply. "Good luck, Sakumo," he said.

**

* * *

**

Contrary to popular belief, ninja travel routes were not just forests, and shinobi did not just leap from tree to tree to get to their destination.

Team Jiraiya had now been travelling for nearly the whole day. Early dusk was approaching, and the rain had reduced itself to merely a drizzle. Jiraiya had commented that by the time they reached Futeki Osore the rain would have fully stopped.

The forest started to thin almost as soon as he finished his statement, with lesser trees to find purchase on. Jiraiya was the first to jump onto the slightly muddy dirt track beneath the trees, although he still ran at a quick pace.

Soon the rest of the team followed his example. What was simply a track started to widen, until it became a road, with slightly uneven cobblestones marking the only sign of civilisation. "We're nearing the village," Jiraiya muttered, starting to slow.

Kasumi eyed the stormy looking sky. "It's going to start raining again soon," she said, glancing back to where the trees were still thick and closely bunched together. "Do you think we'll reach Futeki Osore in time?"

Jiraiya waved his hand around in a reassuring manner. "Sure, sure," he replied. "We're almost there already."

And sure enough, the white haired Sannin was right. The trees had all but disappeared entirely, although the road was starting to smooth out, becoming even wider. The four clambered across a small hill before looking down at their destination – Futeki Osore.

The village was a messy sprawl of ramshackle wooden cottages, with the occasional farmhouse dotted here and there. Although it was only early in the evening, lights could be seen from the windows, even at this distance. It was because of the rain clouds, blotting out the sun and making the landscape grey and dreary.

However, there was a steep mountain jutting out from the edge of the village. The whole of Futeki Osore was backed against a small mountain range, sheltered in a corner. Small paths ran from the single intruding peak, and a single, imposing house stood on the very top. "I'm guessing that that's the home of Kenpai," Naruto muttered, bringing a hand to his forehead and peering up at the manor. Kasumi made a noise of disgust. "I wouldn't be surprised if he was fat," she muttered.

Katsuo shrugged. "Let's just get to the village," he muttered. He was about to take a step forward, but Jiraiya stopped him, grabbing a hold of his arm. "Let's take this one step at a time, shall we?" the Sannin said. "Firstly, although we are unexpected visitors, with villages like these word reaches the head of the village extremely quickly. It is inevitable, but we can fix our situation ever so slightly by simply convincing the first person we meet in Futeki Osore that we're simply passing through."

Katsuo nodded, and Jiraiya let go of his arm. "Just let me do the speaking, alright?" the Toad Sannin said, before striding down the hill. Katsuo, Kasumi and Naruto followed him, with Naruto secretly doubting his sensei's advice.

**

* * *

**

"Ninja! It's not very often we get ninja in Futeki Osore!" The innkeeper hailed the four Leaf ninja as they stopped by the counter. However, the man had enough tact to keep his voice down. Outside, the rain had just started again, hammering onto the tin shingled roof with a dull sound. Thankfully, the four had managed to find the sole tavern in the village – luckily, it had been situated near the entrance of Futeki Osore.

"Welcome to Futeki Osore!" the innkeeper blabbered on. "We have quite good service here. How long will you be staying?"

Jiraiya frowned, making a show of stroking his chin before looking back at the man, at the same time digging out his chequebook. "The night, and perhaps tomorrow as well," he said. "We're just stopping by, but we might take advantage of the opportunity and explore the village for a bit."

Some of the villagers were staring at the Konoha ninja behind their backs, and it was making the hair at the back of Naruto's neck stand on end. They weren't staring at them hostilely, but the steady, unrelenting gaze was unsettling at the best.

The innkeeper nodded enthusiastically. "I suppose you'll want two rooms?" he asked, glancing over to Kasumi. She nodded, a non verbal response to the middle aged man. "Excellent! I'll have everything in order soon enough. In the meantime, please, sit down! My assistant will be out from the kitchen shortly, and she can provide you with the best food in the village! Enjoy!"

He ambled out of the dining room, trotting up the steps. Jiraiya shook his head, bemused. "What a strange man," he murmured.

True to his word, a young, slim woman entered from a door, an apron around her waist and a serving spoon in her hand. Immediately spotting the newcomers, she strode over to take their orders.

Naruto, Kasumi and Katsuo let Jiraiya order for them, preferring to stare around at the other occupants of the room. Jiraiya had purposefully chosen this particular table as it gave the best view of the rest of the room. It was backed against the wall, and the four were seated in the corner looking outwards.

"Say, who lives on the top of that mountain?" Jiraiya was asking. Naruto blinked twice before turning around, looking at the maid inquisitively. She paused for a moment, her pen tip resting on her notepad. "The leader of this village lives there," she answered finally. "His name is Kenpai-sama."

Jiraiya nodded, and the girl turned around quickly before striding away. After the momentary questioning, Jiraiya returned to his normal disposition, ogling the young woman as she walked away. Kasumi lifted a hand to her face, looking away as Naruto and Katsuo silently chuckled. "Not here, please, Jiraiya-sensei," Katsuo pleaded. "You're making the rest of us embarrassed, you see."

The innkeeper returned, his steps clearly audible on the wooden staircase. He stopped before the four ninja, his hands held behind his back. He now let one of them swing forward, depositing a set of keys onto the table. "Your room number is number four," he informed them. "It's a set of adjoining rooms. I hope you are comfortable with the arrangements – if you are not, please come right back to me! It's not often we get overnight visitors, and I'd be pleased to relocate you."

Jiraiya nodded along with him. "I think we'll be fine," he told him. "We'll be retiring just after we finish eating."

The innkeeper inclined his head. "Well then, have a good meal!" he chirped cheerfully before strolling away towards the counter. He exchanged a couple of words with the girl before settling behind on a seat, working on something behind the bench.

**

* * *

**

"Kakashi? I'm home," Sakumo called as he unlocked the door, heading inside. A small figure appeared from behind a pillar. "Welcome home, Father," Kakashi replied, stepping forwards into the light. Sakumo had been gone for most of the day, buying new weapons and finding a few of his jounin friends. He grimaced as he realised that Kakashi had been left all by himself at home all day.

"I went out to the training fields today," Kakashi told his father, as if reading his thoughts. "I found one of your old shuriken sets."

Sakumo's lips twitched, a corner of his mouth quirking up in a half smile. "You really want to be a shinobi, don't you?" he asked, setting down his knapsack on the kitchen table. He collapsed into a chair, sighing in relief.

"Yes," Kakashi replied, giving the bag an inquisitive once over. Sakumo smiled that same half smile again, beckoning his son closer. "Well, you'll be one soon enough," he replied, grimacing inwardly as he remembered his chat with the Hokage in the morning. Kakashi blinked, his eyebrows furrowing slightly to show his confusion.

"The Hokage has granted you permission to start at the ninja academy early," Sakumo elucidated, watching his son's reaction.

"You asked him?" was Kakashi's shrewd reply. Sakumo examined the boy carefully, wondering how to phrase his next statement. "No," he settled for at last. "Hokage-sama approached me about the matter himself. He has a good opinion of your skills, it seems. However, since yours is a special case Hokage-sama informed me that he would possibly provide you with a mentor." Sakumo deliberately left out the part where the Hokage had talked about needing more shinobi to fill in the ranks.

"When do I start?" the only sign of excitement was a small glimmer in the child's eyes. Even at the age of five Kakashi knew how to hold in most of his emotions. However, to Sakumo, that small glimmer was like a shout. "In a week or so, perhaps," he replied. "I haven't confirmed it yet with Hokage-sama."

Sakumo hesitated, before speaking again. "I'm leaving on a mission tomorrow early in the morning," he said bleakly. "I won't be able to see you go to the academy on your first day."

Kakashi said nothing for a moment, before speaking up. "It's alright," he replied.

The conversation was stilted, awkward. The two, father and son, were close to one another but neither had anything much to say to the other. It had been this way since the death of Kakashi's mother a couple of years ago. Kakashi had been little more than an infant, but he had understood the implications of such an event even so.

Sakumo finally stood up, once more swinging the bag around his shoulder. "You should go to bed," he said. Kakashi nodded, heading towards the stairs. "I'll go now," he replied over his shoulder, before skipping up the steps two at a time. Sakumo walked over to a kitchen counter, pouring himself a glass of water from the tap. He gulped it down before placing the empty cup on the rack, ascending the stairs after Kakashi.

It was a little later in the night when Sakumo opened the door to Kakashi's room by a small crack, gazing into the sleeping boy's still form. He opened the door wider, pushing it to a right angle walked in. Just as he moved, Kakashi turned so that he was facing Sakumo.

The jounin knelt down, kissing his son softly on his forehead. "Good night, Kakashi," he said before he rose, backing out of the room and closing the door gently behind him.

**

* * *

**

"So, what do you think?"

Jiraiya, Naruto, Kasumi and Katsuo were seated cross legged in one of the two neighbouring rooms, discussing plans for how they would proceed. Jiraiya was the one who had spoken, asking each person their own opinion of the village.

"Well, we only have a day before people start getting suspicious," Katsuo offered. "If we stay any longer Kenpai might bring down a horde of guards on us or something."

Kasumi shook her head. "I don't think so," she replied. "As long as we've provided our first excuse the villages won't mind. But I want to know what we should do tomorrow. Should we attack Kenpai's house first thing, or what?"

Jiraiya wasn't saying anything, preferring to giggle perversely at something outside the window. Naruto didn't even want to know how he could see through the rain, or what a woman was even doing outside in the rain.

Kasumi scowled, before raising a hand and smashing it down over Jiraiya's head. He yelped in anguish, clutching his head before staring at Kasumi, a pained smile on his face. "Yes?"

"I was asking for your opinion," she replied frostily, a glare upon her face.

"I don't think we should just troop over to Kenpai's house and knock on his front door," Katsuo protested. "That would probably be suicide. We don't know anything about his guard details, or even if he stays at home all day long. Maybe we should question some of the villagers instead and ask for their opinion."

"That's not exactly the best of ideas either," Naruto spoke up. "If we start asking around, the villagers will get suspicious anyway. And rumours would get passed back up until it reaches Kenpai, and then he'll be onto us."

"Well then, mister," Katsuo challenged, a playful smirk upon his lips. "Tell me how _you_ would go about this operation."

Naruto grinned, crossing his arms. "Why don't we just do it the way Ero-sennin would like?" he asked. "Just go in amongst the crowd with some of us split up, buy souvenirs or whatnot."

"How does that help?" Katsuo replied, rolling his eyes. Naruto eyed him, wondering whether he got the point or not. "Well, when you start getting friendly to some of the shop owners they'll get more chatty," he dropped a heavy hint.

Katsuo understood, his face lighting up in realisation. Next to him, Jiraiya nodded eagerly. "Quite right!" he exclaimed. "I would have gone about it in the same way as well. We'll hang around the village for a while, trying to discover any information. We'll split up into two and two – Katsuo, you're with me. Minato and Kasumi, you're together."

"Where do we meet up again?" Naruto asked. Jiraiya frowned, putting a finger to his lips. "In the early afternoon perhaps," he replied. "We'll meet up again in this room, at this inn. If anything happens..." He trailed off, before resuming. "Run, unless you know you can definitely beat them. Remember, the key here is secrecy. We don't want any screw ups here, but more important than the mission are your lives. Don't get involved in a fight that you can't win just because you need to retain the secrecy of the mission."

Jiraiya looked at each and every one of them. "Got it?" he asked pointedly.

"Got it," came the three replies.

"Good!" Jiraiya smiled, before gesturing towards the three pallets that had been laid down in the room. "Kasumi, you're on your own again," he informed her. The young chunin stuck her tongue out at the Sannin before standing, stretching a little and walking through a door into her own room.

"Alright. You two, get some sleep now," Jiraiya instructed, flinging back his own blankets and slipping in."

A few minutes later, the four Konoha shinobi were fast asleep in their pallets. Overhead, the raindrops started decreasing to a slow, but steady stream, flowing off the tin shingles of the inn roof.

**

* * *

**

**Author's Notes: **Sorry about the lateness! However with every bad thing there is a silver lining, and here is one (at least for all you readers): NaNo is won. I have gone over the 50k mark officially, and I am extremely happy about that. However, I still haven't finished my story yet so I'll still be working on that for a while. I'll be less frantic about that now though, which means hopefully more time spent on writing fanfiction.

Until then!

-Dream Keys

Fuchidori village: A village situated in between Fire Country, Wind Country and Earth Country in the north west. (Fuchidori meaning 'border')

Kaminari no Kuni: Lightning Country


	22. Chapter 22

**Author's Notes: **November is finally over! That brings a close to NaNoWriMo, which I am proud to say I won with over 60k worth of writing. I'll still be working on that occasionally, but otherwise (hopefully) I'll be back to normal with my update speed.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed, all of your wonderful comments are greatly appreciated. Here's a longer chapter for you.

Happy reading!

**

* * *

**

Kakashi woke up a little past the crack of dawn, scrambling out of his bed and feeling an unusual feeling – anticipation – in his chest. Today signified his first day at the ninja academy, and although the Third Hokage had warned him that it would not be easy, with his peers being three years above him and all, Kakashi was feeling eager to start.

The floorboards were cool against the boy's feet as he walked around his room, making his bed and flinging open the drawers, taking out his clothing for the day. Within moments, Kakashi was dressed, and he then walked over to another drawer. He pulled out a kunai holster and an equipment pouch, strapping them onto his leg and hip respectively before quickly padding out of the room.

As was almost tradition now, Kakashi walked across the hallway, fingers brushing a doorknob hesitantly before he casually opened another door across the hall. This room belonged to his father, and although he knew it would be empty Kakashi was still disappointed by the lack of Sakumo's presence.

Kakashi softly closed the door behind him, turning around and descending the stairs. From there, he made his way to the kitchen, pouring himself a glass of milk and mindlessly chewing on a piece of bread.

Ten minutes later saw Kakashi quickly giving the dirtied dishes a quick rinse before submerging them in hot water. He then pulled on his shinobi sandals and headed out of the door. People were starting to emerge from their houses, starting a day's work, and Kakashi hurried his pace, not wanting to be caught up in the quickly thickening crowd.

The three faces on the Hokage Monument were staring down at Kakashi as he made his trek towards the Academy. The huge mountain could be seen from every part of Konoha, even from the lowest part. Just in front of the Monument were two buildings – the ninja academy and the Hokage Tower. Kakashi could see the academy from where he was standing already, and a corner of his mouth curled up, seeing his destination.

The walk from Kakashi's home to the ninja academy had only taken ten minutes, and Kakashi was relatively early by the time he had arrived. The courtyard before the classrooms was practically empty, but there was a chunin instructor standing outside, waiting for Kakashi as he arrived.

"Welcome to the ninja academy," the chunin greeted, smiling at Kakashi. "You must be Kakashi. Come with me; you've been assigned to Takuma-sensei's class. This way."

The man led Kakashi through the academy, before entering a classroom, knocking on the door. "Takuma-sensei? I've brought Kakashi."

A certain brown haired instructor looked up from the table he was working at, before standing and walking over, his hand extended. "Ah! You must be Kakashi," he welcomed. "My name is Takuma, and I will be your teacher until you graduate. Please, take a seat."

Throughout Takuma's greeting, Kakashi had been sweeping his gaze around the classroom, taking note of what he could see.

Several students were already there, sitting in the classroom patiently. They were all eight years old, a full three years older than Kakashi himself, leaving him feeling just a little overwhelmed. He imagined sitting in a class _full_ of these people.

All of them were staring at Kakashi with a mixture of curiosity and mild irritation. Kakashi could see the thoughts going through their heads – who was this little kid, who had barged in on their class? Why was he even _in_ the ninja academy?

Kakashi shrugged uncomfortably, eyeing his new classmates. "Okay," was all he could reply to Takuma, before woodenly moving to the seat closest to him and sitting down. He could already feel the incredulous stares of his classmates behind his back, creating a prickling sensation down his spine.

A few more academy students entered through the classroom door, just as the chunin who had led Kakashi in disappeared. They were already moving, walking to seats next to people they already knew, making friends. They were also all eyeing Kakashi, murmuring to their newfound friends.

Takuma sensed the incoming questionings from the academy students, and clapped his hands together, capturing their attention. "Welcome to class," he announced, advancing onto the podium. "There are a few people who still have to come, but they can hear this later."

He surveyed the entire class, peering around. "As of today, all of you are academy students. You will learn here, at this academy, for four years, unless Hokage-sama deems you worthy enough to graduate beforehand. At the end of the four years of learning at the academy, you will undergo a graduation exam. Should you pass this exam, you will be given the title of genin. As we progress through the coursework, I will teach you more about the ninja ranks."

Kakashi frowned. He already knew how the ninja system worked, for heaven's sake! Why would Takuma need to teach them this?!

Then he realised, looking around the room. Most of the students in the classroom came from civilian families. They would have no idea about the ninja ranking system...

Kakashi sighed. If the classes were going to be like this for the rest of his academy life, then he was going to be in for a boring time...

**

* * *

**

The dirt, which had been turned into dry, caked mud overnight was still slightly damp as Team Jiraiya left the inn. Despite being used to waking at unearthly hours of the day, Jiraiya had instructed his students to wait until well over sunrise before leaving the inn house to join the rest of the village.

The reason for this was that he didn't want to arouse the suspicion of anyone in the nearby vicinity. Civilians normally would not wake so early, and it would be unusual for a group of people to be up and around at such an early hour.

Kasumi had grumbled that daylight would be quickly wasting away while they waited out, already wide awake and alert although unable to do anything. Jiraiya had then surprised her with a hearty laugh.

"What?" she had snapped back, with a playful roll of her eyes. Jiraiya had kept on chuckling, replying: "I distinctly remember a particular genin whining about having to get up early when she was fresh out of the academy..." he hinted rather obviously. Kasumi huffed.

After a few hours of planning what they were going to do for the day, the four Konoha shinobi were figuratively out of the door and traipsing around Futeki Osore. The storm clouds of the day before were gone, and it seemed a sunny day was on the rise. The only remnants of the late night rain of last night were the small puddles and damp ground.

Jiraiya nodded wordlessly to Naruto, Kasumi and Katsuo as soon as they were out in the open. "Let's go," he said. He pointed out different directions for all of them to visit, before turning around and trudging away. Just before quickening his pace, the Sannin looked back. "Don't forget, meet back up here in a few hours' time to report your findings. If you're not back...then I'll have to just assume the worst – that you've been taking hostage or killed."

With that, Jiraiya trudged away, with that ominous reminder hanging over the three's heads. Kasumi blew out a breath. "Geez," she muttered, before also walking away on her predetermined route. "See you guys later," the kunoichi called, raising a hand in the air.

The only two left were Naruto and Katsuo, who looked at each other. Naruto shrugged. "We'd better get going, then," he told his friend. "See you in a few hours."

Katsuo smiled. "Until then," he said jokingly.

**

* * *

**

For what felt like the hundredth time, Sakumo thanked the Shodai Hokage for his amazing abilities with Wood Release. Although he had only been gone from Konoha for a few hours he had already stumbled across some patrols hailing from other ninja countries. It was extremely confusing to the jounin, who was quite aware of the fact that these foreign shinobi had no reason to be in Hi no Kuni.

It had only been the dense cover of the trees surrounding Konoha that had managed to keep Sakumo and his teammates safe and unseen. However, Sakumo still worried about the Hokage's words.

Sarutobi had told him that it was quite possible that there would be a Third Great Shinobi World War on their hands. As if the Second War hadn't been enough! Sakumo had no wish to fight in another one, and had no wish to involve his son in it either.

After the first few nasty shocks as Sakumo felt the presence of ninja moving beneath him in the dense foliage, he grew accustomed to the feeling. Although still wary and on his toes, he soon learned how to not start every time he felt another chakra presence flash nearby.

The route that Sakumo and his teammates were taking would bring them past the Valley of the End, through Rice Country and then finally veering east towards Lightning Country and Kumo. They were still an hour or so away from the Valley of the End, though. As soon as they passed Fire Country's border he would give the order to remove their forehead protectors. It was merely a precaution but it was better to be safe than sorry.

Sakumo debated whether or not he should send a messenger bird back to Konoha. So far, he had counted at least three shinobi teams pass him by, and that was only on the route he was taking. What about all of the other entrances all across the border? Where were the border guards?

"We'll inform Hokage-sama about the ninja when we reach the northern border," Sakumo informed his teammates finally. "And we also need to find the border guards. It is possible they may have been attacked, or simply unaware of the intruders. In any case, it's bad for our country. We need to get to the bottom of this immediately."

Kyougi, the team's strategist, nodded his head seriously. "This mission just got a whole lot more complicated," he muttered.

Sakumo chuckled grimly. "Let's move out," he ordered.

**

* * *

**

Sakai shook his head, raising an arm to wipe the rain from his face. It wasn't usual that it rained so hard in this part of the continent at this time of the year. It had started in the early morning with a huge cloud drifting ominously over before the first drops of rain had begun. Soon, it was enveloping seemingly the entire area, deafening and blinding at the same time.

In the deluge, Sakai had managed to become separated from his teammates, his fellow ninja lost to the rain. He had no idea if the rest of his teammates were still together, or if they had all managed to get separated. Either way, it was the worst possible thing that could have happened, especially with _that_ warning in their ears. If someone managed to get through now...Sakai gritted his teeth. He couldn't allow that to happen!

But he couldn't do anything by himself. First, he would have to find his lost teammates, before setting up a chakra sensory field, which should be adequate enough to find anything that they had missed in the rain. Sakai frowned. It was unfortunate that his wireless radio transmitter no longer worked – the damn thing had short circuited randomly, disconnecting him from contact with the other ninja. Sakai didn't know whether theirs' still worked either or not.

He shook his head, ducking under the cover of a midsized tree. There, the rain didn't touch him as much, leaving Sakai able to think a little more clearly.

Heading into the rain again blindly was not an option. It had only been luck that had carried Sakai out, and it would be figurative suicide to go back in. Glancing back, the shinobi spied several more trees, hopefully leading into more thick, dense flora. Sakai smiled a little – it was just what he needed.

Sakai didn't realise that the tantalising sight of the safe cover of tall, leafy trees could be a trap until it was too late. The genjutsu around him vanished away. Eyes bulging wide open, Sakai's arm immediately flashed towards his kunai holster, whipping out a weapon and whirling around. A leg whipped out before his eyes, crashing into his jaw, and before his mind had even caught up with the events, with a flash of steel, Sakai's head was separated from his body.

The ninja landed lightly on his feet, sheathing his katana in one smooth motion. He looked around to his comrades. "Cancel the jutsu," he ordered one of his subordinates. "The rest are already dead."

The shinobi nodded, arranging his hands in a seal. The other man turned back around, waving his hand. "Let's go!" he called.

**

* * *

**

Naruto yawned. So far, the mission had proved rather boring for the chunin, and he was taking his time exploring the village. Several of the villagers had sent surreptitious glances his way, although they were all noted by Naruto from out of the corner of his eye.

Because his team had reached Futeki Osore at a late hour, Naruto hadn't been able to see much of the village. But as he walked through the dirt track streets, the blonde haired ninja spotted a few beggars lined up, stumbling around without a purpose. The other men and women edged around them, also wearing poor clothes, walking to what would be just another day.

The situation reminded Naruto a little of Nami no Kuni, where he had had his first above D rank mission.

The village itself was a small one. A lone farmhouse stood in a corner below the mountain range, possibly a source of fresh food and milk. The rest of the village seemed to be comprised of lone, run down looking houses with a few meagre shop stalls selling a small selection of foods.

The farmhouse seemed deserted though, so Naruto stayed away from it. The owners were probably inside, and he didn't want to bother them. So instead he turned his steps towards the shops, figuring that most of the people, if they were up and about, would be clustered near there. Perhaps he would be able to glean some information from there.

There were only a few people about when Naruto reached the 'main' street, unlike Konoha which would be teeming with people at this time of the day. Digging around in his pouch, Naruto took out his wallet, pretending to examine one of the stalls with interest. The shop keeper, seeing him eye his wares, quickly waved him over.

"Good morning, young sir!" he called, smiling cheerfully. His teeth were yellow and his gums swollen.

"Good morning," Naruto mumbled back. He ambled forwards a little, moving closer to the stall. "How much?" he asked, pointing to a random selection of fruits that looked half rotten. The man shrugged, once again giving him that same smile.

"You look new around here," he told Naruto while fetching a plastic bag. Naruto narrowed his eyes ever so slightly – he hadn't even told the shopkeeper that he was buying. But he let it go, wanting to know more and seizing the opening that he had just been giving.

"That's right," Naruto nodded, gripping his wallet tighter and trying to send a subtle message to the shop keep. "I'm with a few friends. We're ninja, and we're just staying in Futeki Osore for a while before we leave. There doesn't seem to be many people living around here, though..."

The shopkeeper sighed, momentarily forgetting about the bag and resting his hands on the wooden table that held the fruits. "You are correct," he said. "Not many people wanted to live here after _he_ came."

Naruto's curiosity was piqued. "What do you mean?" he asked the older man. "Who is he?"

"Kenpai," was the answer. "He is the man who lives on the house atop the mountain, and he owns the village. The smarter people left as soon as he came, and now the only ones left are the old, stupid and poor."

After considering for a little while, Naruto decided to buy the decomposing fruit. He pushed a hundred ryō over the counter, and after a little more thought added another fifty. The shopkeeper looked up in surprise, before another wide smile split his features. "Thank you!" he exclaimed to Naruto, bowing his head towards him respectfully.

Naruto was already walking away, though, looking for more information. He filed away the shopkeeper's words for later use, however. The man had not been bitter at all when he had talked about Kenpai – rather, it had been with a rather resigned tone that he had spoken, as if he had already accepted this fate.

Naruto narrowed his eyes. Kenpai was seeming more and more like an evil bastard to him, and the Konoha shinobi was starting to doubt whether or not he would have a guilty conscience after Kenpai's death.

Shaking his head, Naruto turned around, heading towards another vendor. Perhaps he would have some more information for him.

After walking only a little way up the street, Naruto found another stall. It was almost identical to the last one, down to the very items the shopkeeper was selling. Conscious of the grocery items he was holding in his hands, Naruto grimaced slightly, before dropping them inconspicuously in front of him, in the hollow below the stall's wooden table. He wouldn't be needing those anymore, if he had a use for them in the first place.

Naruto also stuck his wallet back in his equipment pouch before clearing his throat. It wasn't a loud noise, but it was enough to turn the shopkeeper around from where he had been puttering about in the shadows. However, Naruto didn't look up from the items he was pretending to inspect, leaving the man with the feeling that Naruto had merely alerted him to his presence.

Nevertheless, the shop keep still strode up to him. "Welcome, welcome," he greeted. "I've got a new shipment coming in soon, so unfortunately there's nothing too spectacular today. That is, if Ken –"

He broke off, eyes widening. Then, he hastily straightened, grabbing a dirty hand towel from off the table and wringing his hands nervously across it.

"Do you mean Kenpai?" Naruto asked, his curiosity once again aroused. "The man who lives on the mountain?"

The shopkeeper waved nervously at him, shushing him without saying anything. "Do lower your voice," he muttered, dropping the towel. "Kenpai drastically lowers our exports and imports from all around, creating so much poverty around here. His goons are the ones who attack all of the traders who visit Futeki Osore. But still..."

"But?"

The shop keep sighed. "Kenpai is a good person, despite his actions. His intentions are good, and he only means well for the people of the village!"

Naruto was taken aback. "But you just said –"

The man shook his head. "Never mind that," he muttered. "Kenpai-sama protects us from invaders and all the manner of unholy _things_. He protects us, and it is only fair that we give him back something in return. He must be harsh in order to let us live an easier life, if you know what I mean."

This was completely different to the man's attitude moments ago. "So Kenpai is a just man?" Naruto asked, somewhat disbelievingly. He shook his head as well. "I've heard the opposite said about him today," he said, referring to the previous shopkeeper.

The stall owner waved an arm around. "Bah," he mumbled, raising his hand to massage his temples. "Enough of the grim talk. Is there anything I can get you?"

Naruto sighed. He wouldn't get much more out of this man. He shook his head, indicating a no, before turning around and walking away. Naruto still had an hour or so left and there was still quite a bit of his quadrant to explore.

**

* * *

**

"Hokage-sama!"

A chunin burst into the office, breathing hard. Sarutobi looked up from his stack of paperwork, concern narrowing his eyes. "What is wrong?" he asked, taking a puff on his pipe.

"There is a messenger bird from Suna!" the chunin exclaimed, starting to breathe a little more easily and straightening, trying to compose himself. "I have sent it to the decrypting team, but I think it will be a while before we can make heads or tails of the message."

Sarutobi leaned forwards, frowning. "A coded message?" he asked, pondering. "Suna is allied with Konoha, and it would only be of great importance to send a message such as this. Inform me at once when the decoding team is done!"

The chunin bowed, backing out of the door. "Hai, Hokage-sama!"

As the black clad shinobi exited the room, Sarutobi folded his fingers together, resting his chin upon them and pondering what could possibly be the reason for the Sand to send such an urgent message. It was uncharacteristic of them to do so – even from the start, Sunagakure had been a fiercely independent country, relying on no one. It was what made them such a strong force.

Something terrible must have happened for them to send a coded message.

Several minutes later, the same chunin knocked on the door before entering at the approval of the Hokage. This time, however, he was followed by a girl wearing glasses and pristine white robes.

"Hokage-sama! We have deciphered the code!" she reported, producing two scrolls. The first one was the original message from Suna, covered in strange and intricate patterns. The second one was written in readable format, the deciphered code.

Sarutobi picked the second scroll up, unfurling it and peering down at it. After a few tense moments, he put the scroll back down, alarm evident on his features.

The chunin who had first brought him the news stepped forward hesitantly. "What has happened, Hokage-sama?" he ventured. The Sandaime's eyes seemed to refocus, and he shook his head, looking back up to the two in his office.

"The Third Kazekage has disappeared," he finally said grimly, eyeing the scroll that was spread out across his desk. "Suna is asking whether we have seen any trace of him at all. This is most grave news..."

Both of the visitors in the room were visibly taken aback. "The Kazekage? Missing?" the decoder whispered. "But he was so strong...everyone has heard of the Sandaime Kazekage's Satetsu. Who or what could have possibly killed him?"

Sarutobi fixed the woman with a stare. "There was no mention of the Kazekage being killed," he murmured. "It is quite possible that he left of his own volition, although I do not know what could have possessed him to do such a thing. I do know for certain that the Kazekage was a loyal man."

The other man in the room made a motion, as if going to speak. The Hokage turned his gaze over to him. "Don't inform anyone of this quite yet," he ordered. "I have a few sources I need to contact first, before the news can be spread around."

Taking this as a non verbal dismissal, the two bowed quickly before leaving the room. Sarutobi was left on his own, bowing his hand, this time resting his forehead on his interlocked fingers. He wondered if this would be the beginning of the war Naruto had mentioned, and sighed. The world had not remembered the pains of the last shinobi war, and if Naruto's intel was correct, then something _big_ was about to happen, and soon.

Sarutobi sighed. Of course, he _had_ asked for Naruto to give him details about the future, but although the blonde had kept to his promise, the answers to his questions had been rather vague. As a result, Sarutobi was near blind when it came to the future, other than a few major events that had been reported to him.

Rolling the scroll up, Sarutobi resolved to press Naruto for more answers when he arrived back from his B rank mission.

**

* * *

**

The first day had been a complete bore to Kakashi. He had tried to hide his disappointment in the academy class, but had rather failed. He already knew everything that Takuma-sensei was teaching, and had no trouble at all catching up to his several years older peers, disproving Takuma's fears.

During the class, Takuma had quizzed the class on the basics, testing them to see what they knew. They covered topics such as history, with many of his classmates not even knowing the names of the Shodaime or Nidaime, physics, where Takuma attempted to explain that gravity was a strong factor in how far a kunai flew (on deaf ears, Kakashi added), and basic knowledge about the ninja ranks.

Sakumo had taught all of these things to Kakashi previously, unwitting or not. Kakashi liked to describe himself as a smart child – he caught onto things relatively easy, and by simply eavesdropping on a conversation or seeing an object he could determine its use and the meaning behind it.

During the lunch break, Kakashi had left the classroom with his lunch, entering the academy's courtyard. It was full of other, older school children however, so Kakashi instead found another place in the corner. It was located under a tree, and a single swing hung down from one of its branches.

A shadow fell over Kakashi as he was about to bite into a delicious smelling sandwich, prompting him to look up with a lazy expression on his face.

Three kids from his class stood around him, all three of them with their arms crossed in front of them. The one in the middle, presumably the leader, stepped forward, an undesirable looking sneer plastered across his face. He poked his finger forward. "Why the hell are you in our class?" he sneered, reaching out to stab a finger into Kakashi's chest.

Kakashi reacted instinctively, grabbing the offensive digit and twisting it before shoving it back into the older boy's face. He fell back immediately, cradling the injured finger to his chest. Kakashi was still sitting with his sandwich half raised.

The other two immediately moved, pouncing onto him. Self preservation instincts kicked in and Kakashi dropped the sandwich, diving out to escape the two boys. Mournfully, he noted the loss of his lunch.

"Now," he began as the three boys once again regrouped, "I was prepared to just walk away from you guys in the beginning."

Kakashi paused, crossing his arms. "But then you did something _unforgivable,"_ he continued. "_You took my lunch away from me."_

He moved, lashing out and kicking one of the boys in the midsection before moving onto the next, planting a fist in his face. "And you're going to pay for that!"

In the end, injured and with a hurt pride, the three had stomped off, mirroring a younger Hiashi several years earlier as he had been defeated in a brawl with Naruto.

Several minutes later had seen Kakashi once again in the classroom, feeling a little peckish as a certain trio limped in, sending vicious glares in the direction of the silver haired boy. Takuma had raised an eyebrow in Kakashi's direction, but had said no more of the matter.

After lunch had consisted of practically the same as before, not that Kakashi was surprised. It had been the first day, after all. Kakashi nearly dozed off then, but sat up alert at the last second, remembering his father.

Sakumo was famous amongst the ninja and civilian population alike, for being so strong and charismatic. His fame outweighed even the Sannin, who had been the pupils of the Third Hokage. Sakumo had been an excellent student in the academy despite his young age, just like Kakashi, and had passed with flying colours. He had told Kakashi to listen well during class...

There was no way that Kakashi was going to disappoint his father! He sat up straighter, actually starting to listen in on Takuma's lesson as his other classmates started getting bored. An actual sense of accomplishment passed over him – he had managed to listen into a lecture that his older peers couldn't. Kakashi smiled. Perhaps the academy wouldn't be that bad after all.

The students had filed out of the academy quickly enough as the school day ended, walking home or being walked home by overprotective parents. Kakashi strode out, a bag slung over a shoulder, and chose a random street to walk down towards his home.

On the way down one street, Kakashi noticed a shop owner selling ninja gear. He entered the store hesitantly, lingering by the doorway, but quickly moved in once the sparkle of a dying sun ray hitting a stray kunai dazzled his eyes. Kakashi was hooked.

The shop itself wasn't cluttered with objects, but a few kunai and shuriken sets lay around, ready to be sold. Armoured fingerless gloves were also aplenty, hung up on a nearby wall. More elegantly styled weapons such as katanas were high above, out of reach of any normal customer. Kakashi thought it was stupid. Sure, it prevented anyone from getting close to it, but what if it fell?

However, none of the weapons or tools caught his eye. Instead, a black half mask at the far corner lay there inconspicuously, just waiting to be picked up and put on. Kakashi made his way around the shelves towards it, examining it closely.

It was smooth and cold to the touch, made of some sort of neoprene material and stretchy. It only covered half of a person's face, from the chin all the way up to half of the nose.

A presence made itself known from behind Kakashi split seconds before a voice spoke. "You need something, kid?" someone asked.

Kakashi jumped, startled, and turned around. "Yeah," he managed to get out, pointing to the mask. "How much for one of these?"

The owner of the shop peered down closely at him, some sort of recognition lighting up his eyes. He must have realised who Kakashi was, or at least who Kakashi was related to. "That's a few sizes too big for you, I'll reckon," he told the boy. "Come around to the back, I've got a few spares some sizes down."

He led Kakashi around to the back store room, where he pulled out another, similar looking mask. "Here ya go, kid," he said, handing it over to Kakashi.

"How much?" Kakashi repeated, looking down at the mask. The store owner laughed. "It's free of charge." He raised a hand, stalling Kakashi's arguments as he pulled out a wad of money. "First off, this was pretty much a defect. The supplier made a mistake and made this mask way too small for anyone to wear it." He paused, before correcting himself. "Except for you. Secondly, I'm going to be the one laughing whenever I see you pass down the street with a ridiculous mask on your face."

Kakashi sniffed. "Thank you," he said reluctantly to the laughing older man. "I'll be sure to remember you every time I walk down this street, then."

**

* * *

**

"Something's wrong."

"You reckon?" Kaisan, Sakumo's other teammate scoffed. "There's been an off feeling about here for ages. Not to mention we're at the site of the legendary battle..."

The team had reached the Valley of the End moments ago, stopping at the border. Like Sakumo had said he would, he had sent a message back to Sarutobi as soon as he had crossed the Fire/Rice border. They were now at the Valley of the End, searching for the border guards.

Sakumo nearly had a heart attack as Kyougi clapped him on the shoulder. "Geez!" he whispered furiously to his teammate. "Warn me next time!"

Kaisan looked over at him critically, raising her eyebrow. "Sakumo, are you alright?" she asked cautiously. "You've been on high alert ever since _before_ leaving Konoha. You're not your usual self. What's going on?"

Sakumo shook his head, dragging a hand through his hair. "Sorry," he muttered. "I guess I've just been really tightly wound today." Unspoken were his thoughts about his son's first day at the academy.

Kyougi shrugged, jerking a thumb backwards. "Sakumo, Kaisan. Perhaps you should check this out," he said. Exchanging a look, the other two jounin followed him.

The strategist led the team over to an open area where the wind blew strongly, whistling through the valley pass. It was on top, on the hillside closer to the First Hokage's statue. A lone body, wearing a Konoha chunin flak jacket laid there, spread eagled on the ground and missing a head. Further searching located the wayward body part, and Sakumo sucked in a breath as he realised who the shinobi was.

"Sakai," he muttered, kneeling on the ground. "The Hokage asked me to help him with border guard selections, and together we issued out a team. Sakai...he was in this team."

"Where are the others, then?" Kaisan asked, also kneeling down to peer closer at the chunin's body. "And why didn't whoever killed him pillage his body for secret techniques or such?"

"They were probably in a hurry," Kyougi spoke with a growl. "Most likely whoever killed him was in a hurry to get into Fire Country. That's just my guess. Sakumo?"

The grey haired man stood up. "We need to locate the other Fire/Rice border guards and find out what they know," he said. "The worst case scenario has all of them dead. In that case, we need to find them anyway to burn their bodies. We can't have anyone stumbling across the bodies and taking Konoha secrets with them."

Kaisan nodded, stepping back. Her hands flashed into a series of hand seals before she raised a hand to her mouth. "Katon: Gōkakyu no Jutsu!"

The corpse of Sakai was incinerated within moments, lost to the intense heat of the fireball technique. When the jutsu was finished, all that was left were several scorched blades of grass as well as ashes fluttering quietly in the wind, the remnants of the chunin's body.

Sakumo bowed his head in respect for Sakai for a moment before raising it again. When he spoke, his voice was clear and resolute. "We'll split up and fan out across the border," he ordered. "Let's make a general sweep of the vicinity, staying within radio range. If any of you find anything, contact us with your radio and coordinates."

He sprang into the air, already dashing off. His next words were almost lost to the wind, but still somehow managed to be heard by Kyougi and Kaisan. "Let's not have this death in vain," Sakumo said. "Once we find all of them, we'll send another messenger to Hokage-sama."

Turning his face back around, Sakumo closed his eyes for a fraction of a second before re opening them. This mission would be extended for a while longer due to this...he wouldn't be able to hurry back for Inoichi's and Chouza's next chunin exam. Sakumo sighed. It couldn't be helped, and that matter was little compared to the immense task he had ahead of him.

Sakumo had to find the remaining border guards soon. He had a bad feeling about this.

**

* * *

**

**Author's Notes: **Once more, sorry about the long wait (I'm starting to sound like a broken record here...). Thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter! This was mainly a filler-ish kind of chapter, but then again major things starting to appear here.

Any questions or comments, feel free to PM me. Thanks!

-Dream Keys

Shodai Hokage: First Hokage (Senju Hashirama)

Hi no Kuni: Fire Country

Nami no Kuni: Wave Country

Ryō: The currency used in the Naruto series (an old Japanese coin, the predecessor to the yen). Stated by Masashi Kishimoto, 10 yen = 1 ryō and after a little researching 10 yen = approximately 0.10 AUD. Therefore, unless my maths is really off, 0.10 AUD = 1 ryō. However, a D rank mission costs about 5000 ryō while an S rank can fetch up to a million ryō. So...the answer? Kishimoto is screwed in the head. Yay.

Satetsu: Iron Sand (the kekkei genkai [bloodline ability] of the Third Kazekage)

Shodaime: First

Nidaime: Second

Katon: Gōkakyu no Jutsu: Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique


	23. Chapter 23

**Author Notes: **Hey, I'm back! Thanks for everyone's comments – I heard a _lot_ of 'please don't make Sakumo die!'. We'll just have to see about that...

If I'm not mistaken, this _is_ my largest chapter to date, which I'm quite proud of. I've risen from being a measly 3k writer to the new and improved 6k, but I've still got a lot to work on! I've finally broken through 100k worth of words in this story, although I'll admit I still have a long ways to go in regards of the actual story in itself...

This chapter took quite a bit of time to write out, so have fun reading!

**

* * *

**

"Have you heard the news?"

The other ninja turned, the early morning sunlight glinting slightly off a forehead protector with a silvered engraving of two shapes – one in an oval shape, while the other was in a slanting 'S' design. "Heard what?" he answered back boredly, crossing his arms to his female companion. "We're on a mission. News doesn't apply to us. And nothing has happened recently, anyway. I doubt anything you say will affect me very much."

The first ninja laughed, flopping inelegantly onto her backside, arms keeping her upright and splaying her fingers behind her. "Well, I'm quite sure this little tidbit of information is quite interesting," she promised him. "You see, I recently heard from a rather reliable source that the Sandaime Kazekage has gone missing."

The male Kumo ninja jumped about two metres into the air, startled, before warily falling back onto the ground, which was rather sparsely decorated by thin blades of starved grass. "You're not serious," he ground out, blinking dark, chocolate coloured eyes. "He's like a constant. He was supposed to live until he became old and died of old age."

A sudden rustling from behind announced another Cloud nin as he strode out from behind a row of trees, tossing a small package to the kunoichi before sitting down besides his teammates. The female shinobi caught it lazily. "What's this?" she asked.

The third newcomer smirked a little. "Part of our payment," he spoke in a light tone, grabbing the small leather bag back from the kunoichi and shoving it into his equipment pouch. "I managed to persuade the stingy man to pass it over."

He sniffed before settling down more comfortably on the grass, easing out a crick in his neck. "It's a pity that the Kazekage has gone missing, though," he continued the first two's discussion. "He would have been good for our plans..."

"Don't judge him like that," the kunoichi snorted. "Remember, Suna is allied closely with Konoha. Even if we wanted him to –"

"Ahem."

The three on the ground whipped their heads towards the source of the noise, eyes wide. The fourth member of their team came into view, a disapproving expression on his face. "Don't talk so loudly," she hissed. "There are ears everywhere, and you're just asking for Kumo's plan to be revealed prematurely. Be silent!"

"Hai, taicho," the second man said wryly, quirking up the corners of his lips. "Is the man angry again?"

The captain of the team rolled her eyes. "Up, everyone," she ordered. "And he _is_ angry. I heard him grumbling about someone taking the money from his pockets."

The other kunoichi snorted again. "He's saying that to the team that protects him?" she asked the rhetorical question. No one really bothered to reply back, all four of them starting to head back to the manor in the distance.

**

* * *

**

The man stood by the porch, watching the four mysterious nin approaching. He stepped down the stairs, walking in purposeful strides towards the edge. A flicker of gold caught his eye and he half turned his head, eyes latching onto the honey coloured hair – which contrasted so sharply with her dark, olive coloured skin – of the leading kunoichi. His own bleached blonde hair waved slightly in the wind, the by product of being located up so high.

If the woman had been anything else but a ninja, he would have attempted to get to know her better. After all, she was an exotic sort of beauty, although she hid it well with her sharp temper and use of foul language. However, the kunoichi was a kunoichi, and as such the man was rightly wary of her. Wariness made him keep his distance.

The middle aged man straightened as the shinobi became within earshot. "Anything new to report?" he called out softly. One of the male ninja, the one whom the man had quickly become irritated with, smirked. "Nothing out to get you quite yet, Kenpai-san," he replied for his whole team. "Although..." at this, he turned around to glance at his leader, who had walked forwards a few more paces, right to the edge of the mountain side.

"There is another shinobi team inside Futeki Osore," the woman declared, glancing back towards her employer, who was looking decidedly alarmed.

"Another team?" he gasped, his angular features wrinkling as a frown took them over. "What will we do?"

The captain scoffed. "_We?"_ she asked incredulously, turning around fully to face Kenpai. "_You_ are not going to do anything. My team and I will be the ones who save your sorry hide. Secondly, we won't do _anything_ about this new team quite yet. They haven't caused any trouble and we want to keep it that way."

"But –" Kenpai bit his lip and was cut off by the team leader. "Kenpai-san, if this team is neutral then there is no point in antagonising them. The issue is settled."

She left unsaid the fact that they were Cloud ninja working in _Konoha's _territory – that is, Fire Country. If these ninja were from the Leaf village, then she and her team would have no choice but to eliminate them. They could not be allowed to walk away with the knowledge that she and her teammates had managed to enter Hi no Kuni.

Trying to regain his regal posture, Kenpai levelled a straight stare, drilling into the captain's back. "If they do cause trouble, I want them out of the village," he said, before turning on his heel and striding away.

The captain exhaled sharply, a small smile on her lips. "How quaint," she murmured barely audibly.

**

* * *

**

"There was barely even any civilisation to talk about where I was!" Kasumi was defending herself.

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow. "I made a visit to the old farmhouse at the edge of the village," he continued on, filing away Kasumi's words for later deliberation. "The house was abandoned with the exception of a rotting skeleton."

All three of the younger generation winced collectively, mentally conjuring up the image that the Sannin presented them with.

"I talked with two shopkeepers," Naruto volunteered when it didn't look like Katsuo was going to open his mouth any time soon. "Except what they both told me was kind of weird..."

Jiraiya sat back comfortably, leaning on the cushion placed against the wall. "What do you mean?" he asked. Naruto shrugged, frowning a little. "Well...the first one gave me the impression that the village didn't exactly hold Kenpai in the highest possible regard," he began. "To me, it was clear that he wasn't particularly enamoured with him. But then, I visited the second shopkeeper, who was the complete opposite. He didn't call Kenpai a gift to mankind, nor did he praise him particularly, but he told me that Kenpai was the one who made life possible in Futeki Osore."

Naruto shook his head. "I don't know which one to believe, actually," he confessed. "Both seemed equally sure of themselves, and without seeing the person himself I can't make a decision." There was a little frustration to his tone, as if he was feeling something that he couldn't express entirely.

"There was nothing on the amount of guards Kenpai had on himself?" Jiraiya pressed on. "If he comes out from his house at all and into the village? How do things run in Futeki Osore?"

Kasumi half raised her hand, drawing the attention of the other three males in the room before lowering the mentioned limb. "I overheard a few people saying that Kenpai would enter the village in a week or so," she declared, but Jiraiya merely shook his head. "That won't help us at all," he replied. "It's likely that everyone in the village knows we're here now, and only a matter of time before Kenpai himself knows. It's up to him whether he deems us threats or not...but I digress. They're all expecting us to leave tomorrow, if not this night."

"That means we've got to act soon!" Naruto piped up. "The sooner we're gone, the better. Besides, the old man said that Kenpai didn't have much protection with him, so it wouldn't be all that hard to get to him."

Jiraiya tapped his chin thoughtfully. "I wonder where Sarutobi-sensei got that information from..." he murmured thoughtfully, before shaking his head and standing up. "Everyone, get your shinobi gear all ready! We're going to find Kenpai!" With a last dramatic pose, Jiraiya stubbed his toe on the ground, almost falling over immediately.

Kasumi sighed. "We already have all of our gear with us," she told the white haired Sannin. "And we already know where Kenpai lives." After further consideration, Kasumi added to the statement again. "_And_ isn't it a little suspicious leaving the inn this early in the day again? We'd be spotted in a moment trying to get up the mountain."

"The answer is simple," Jiraiya said calmly. "Try and get in the mindset of our target, and try to think with a little common sense. Do you really think Kenpai would appreciate a stroll down a rocky mountain pass with perhaps gale force winds occasionally buffeting the entire face? If he _had_ to walk down the mountains, he would build a road. However, in a village like this, Kenpai wouldn't have the resources necessary to build so much. What's a lot more likely is that he has some sort of passage through the interior of the mountain – I'm not quite sure of the make-up of this particular mountain, but I'm sure he would have a path."

The Sannin shook his head. "I'm rambling," he muttered. "What I'm trying to get at is that there will be a comfortable way for Kenpai to haul himself down into the village. And all we have to do is find the entrance...and try and make sure we don't accidentally stumble into anyone."

"We're leaving now?" Katsuo asked. Jiraiya nodded in response, gesturing at Naruto. "Minato, make four shadow clones and transform them. We don't want the innkeeper or anyone else getting suspicious."

Naruto nodded, forming the familiar cross shaped seal. With a slight noise and a cloud of smoke, four exact replicas of the occupants of the room stood at attention, before moving to where the original Team Jiraiya had been sitting, plopping down and acting as if the exchange had never happened.

The real team instead carefully opened a window, dropping down and sneaking stealthily around the back.

**

* * *

**

"Does anyone else feel like it was only a stroke of luck that we managed to end up here?"

Kasumi's voice was unnaturally loud in the confined space that the four were in.

After nearly half an hour of searching behind the farmhouse at the base of the mountain, Jiraiya had stumbled across a half hidden entrance. He had wondered to his students why Kenpai would choose to come out into such a place. Wouldn't he have preferred a grander entrance into Futeki Osore?

The entrance that Kasumi had found had eventually led into a wider tunnel, wide enough for three people to walk comfortably side by side and tall enough for two people to stand on each others' shoulders. The ground was made up of some kind of strong material that made a soft thud at every footstep – not wood, but some sturdier substance. Every few metres an oil lamp hung from rafters above, the flickering light creating dancing shadows along the walls.

The walls, which were made up of the same texture as the outside mountain, were carefully carved away into a smooth quality, occasionally reinforced by steel or timber beams. It looked like the whole place was neatly crafted, everything fitting together well.

"Where did Kenpai find the supplies or the _money_ to build this thing?" Katsuo wondered aloud, glancing around. "He could have gone with the road if he wanted to."

However, instead of answering his question, Naruto was feeling every bit as edgy as he knew his sensei was – the four of them were trapped in a confined space that if disturbed could cave in on all of them and bury them alive. The only two ways to go were either forward or backwards – and if anyone decided to come down from the other end – Kenpai, for example – they would be open and vulnerable for attacks, and most importantly, _seen_. "Maybe it would have been better to go with the cliff walking," Naruto mumbled under his breath. He and Jiraiya were leading the four at the front, giving them a greater vantage point to see if anyone was about to come down. However, from what the light provided them with, it seemed that the path was on an inclined plane, continually heading upwards – which was to be expected – but taking odd twists and turns here and there. There were no straight lines, meaning that the team wouldn't be able to see if anyone was coming around until they were one 'curve' apart.

"Hurry up," Kasumi urged from behind, catching onto Naruto and Jiraiya's discomfort. "The sooner we get out from this place, the better."

The shadows along the walls suddenly became more frenzied, flickering madly everywhere and quickening everyone's pulse. A cold draught of air breezed past from the open entrance down below, threatening to plunge the lamps into dark oblivion.

"...Damn it!" Naruto cursed, eyeing the lights warily. "I should have known that there would be a reason for covering the entrance...if we have to walk the rest of the way up in the darkness I'm going to strangle something."

Katsuo grimaced from behind him. "Not me, please," he replied jokingly. "Let's just get out of here."

After a few more minutes of trudging uphill in monotony save for the dangerously flickering lamps, the team saw what could be described as a faint light in the distance. "Looks like the final stretch is a dead straight run," he commented, looking backwards. As if by an unspoken cue, all four of them hurried up, increasing their pace in an effort to get out of the spacious tunnel faster.

However, when the team neared the end they slowed down. Cautiously, Kasumi poked her head out into the sunshine, looking around carefully. Making a few signs in silent communications, she indicated an all clear and headed out, looking around this way and that.

Katsuo, Naruto and then finally Jiraiya came out behind her, examining their immediate surroundings. A little distance away was a large, imposing manor, most likely the residence of their target, Kenpai. A thick collection of trees stood behind the house. The house itself was the very picture of elegance – a few terraces overhung the double door entrance, with a rich coloured wood complementing perfectly laid out tiles. The roof of the place was in a gently arching shape, perhaps containing a large attic. No one seemed to be around, but appearances could be deceiving – Kenpai and his bodyguards could be inside the house, for it was certainly large enough to contain quite a number of people.

At the obvious grandiosity and the ostentation shown by the manor, Naruto could not help but feel a deep stab of anger at the pretentiousness of Kenpai. The villagers below lived with less than perfect conditions, while Kenpai himself lived comfortably in a large, lavish estate.

"The house is very still," Jiraiya murmured in a low voice. "My guess is that either Kenpai isn't home, or Sarutobi-sensei was right – the security is lax around here."

"Let's check around the forest," Katsuo whispered back, pointing towards the trees behind the manor. "I want to see how far back it extends."

Nodding approvingly, Jiraiya gestured his students forward.

**

* * *

**

"Well, that's the end of that," Sakumo muttered, dropping into race with his teammates. All of the border guards had been found dead, each of them in ones or twos, but never any more. It was almost as if they had been in a genjutsu, leading them off before massacring them all. It had been up to Sakumo's team to dispose of the bodies, which they had done by incinerating them with various Fire element techniques. "I've already sent off a messenger bird for the Hokage."

Sakumo was referring to the second bird he had sent, with the first one detailing the numerous foreign shinobi they had seen on their way to Kumo, and the second one telling of the Fire and Rice border guards' massacre. He only hoped that the other border men hadn't been taken off guard like this. However, he wouldn't receive a response until he returned safely from Kumo. During a mission, Sakumo didn't have the clearance to know such sensitive information, in the case that it leaked.

The team had crossed the Valley of the End moments ago, entering Rice Country and well on their way to passing by the place that would be called Otogakure in the years to come.

"Only a day more at top speed until we get to Kumo," Kaisan replied. "Then we can start this mission for real."

"Don't forget to take off your forehead protectors now," Kyougi cautioned both of them, untying his from his forehead with a soft whisper of sliding fabric. He stuffed it into his equipment pouch. There was barely a pause as both of his teammates did the same. "There's more chance of running into a Cloud ninja patrol now, so we've got to be cautious."

"The landscape isn't the most helpful," Sakumo murmured, casting a baleful eye across the half trampled grasses and lack of the leafy green trees that were so useful for hiding, the ones that stood almost tauntingly on the other side of the Valley of the End. From here on, tall grasses and dried, stunted trees provided their only cover.

**

* * *

**

Another kunai thudded into the wooden target, burying itself a little more than half way up the blade. Inoichi let fly with another before stopping, eyeing the human like target that he had chosen. Nearby, Chouza was sitting under the shade of a leafy evergreen, munching on a snack he had fished out from somewhere. Next to him lay Shikaku on his back, staring lazily up towards the clouds.

"Hey, Inoichi!" Chouza called out. "Come and take a break, you've been training all morning."

Inoichi shrugged, retrieving his kunai before plopping himself down besides his two teammates. "I guess I should," he mumbled a little grudgingly. The team just sat like that for a few minutes in perfect silence and yet perfect harmony – they had known each other all their lives and felt completely at ease with each other.

Another few moments later, the chubbiest member of the group tilted his head. "Sakumo-sensei hasn't returned from his mission," he remarked off handedly. Shikaku sat up, a hand idly scratching at his head. "He's only been gone for two days. He probably only just reached Kumo, anyway."

"Well, I'm pretty sure he won't be back in time for us to get to the chunin exams," Inoichi replied. The one chunin in their group shrugged lazily. "It's troublesome, travelling to Suna like that," Shikaku mumbled. "Too much work...I'm glad I already passed."

The three shared a grin at this, knowing the Nara's personality quirks. They lapsed back into a comfortable silence, although it was broken again, although this time by Chouza.

"Shikaku, you're a chunin now," the Akimichi began. "That means Inoichi and I will be alone when we compete in the next chunin exams. But the rules say we have to be in three man teams! How will that work?"

"They're going to stick you two with someone else," Shikaku drawled, flopping onto his back again. "In this case, you're going with that Yakushi guy, from Jiraiya-sama's team."

"Oh, you mean the guy that you knocked out in the first round?" Inoichi asked with mild interest. "If he's weak, then that's not going to be so good for us. Ehm...how did you know he would be on our team anyway?"

Shikaku sighed. "Troublesome," he muttered, but explained for his friends anyway. "Katsuo isn't weak," he stated bluntly. "He's actually pretty good...but he had the misfortune of being placed against a senior genin. And my father knows Jiraiya-sama, who told him about the team shuffling."

"Then Chouza and I should have a conversation with him soon," Inoichi said thoughtfully. However, as soon as the words were out of his mouth Shikaku rebutted him. "Sorry, no can do," he told his blonde pony tailed teammate. "Yakushi is on a mission with his teammates and won't be back for a while."

"Won't be back for a while?" Inoichi repeated, looking startled. "That will be too late for him to come to Suna!"

"Well, this was probably already planned out in advance," Chouza replied. "Hokage-sama wouldn't be so careless as to allow him to wander off on a mission if he wouldn't be back in time to come with us."

"Do you know what kind of a mission he got sent on?" Inoichi asked out of curiosity. Again, Shikaku shrugged. "A B rank," he said, not bothering with anything further.

"What?! They're just rookies! We didn't get sent on a B rank until well after becoming genin!"

"Namikaze-san and Kaori-san both became chunin," Chouza pointed out. "Some say that Namikaze is a genius kid – apparently he's really strong for his age. Besides, two out of three became chunin on their first exam. That's something to boast about, anyway."

Grudgingly, Inoichi nodded. "I guess so," he muttered. Then he rolled his eyes skyward, eyeing the sun. "Now come on!" he goaded his two teammates. "It's time to get training again! Even you lazy bum, Shikaku. We're not going to be dragged down because of some lazy chunin like you!"

As if to further exaggerate his point, Inoichi grabbed the Nara's limp arm and started dragging him. The first rays of sun hit Shikaku hard even through his closed eyes, and he groaned pitifully. Feeling a moment's sympathy, Inoichi let go of his teammate's arm. This turned out to be a bad idea as Shikaku merely used the freeing up of his arm to roll over. Moments later, snores emanated from his body. Inoichi scowled good naturedly.

"Stupid bum," he mumbled out.

**

* * *

**

"They've found the hidden tunnel," the brown eyed man said from his crouched position on the ground, touching the slight indents that the previous ninja had left. "I can feel their chakras growing fainter...they're heading further away from us, but that's odd..."

"Because Kenpai's house is clearly visible from the exit," the leader continued, piecing the puzzle together. "You said they've headed into the forest?"

The second shinobi snorted, crossing his arms across his chest. "We still don't know for sure if they're against us," he drawled out. "Obviously, the clues _do_ point towards that conclusion, but there's no good way to be sure."

"Besides, we didn't get a good look at their forehead protectors before they went charging off," the last member of the team reasoned. "I'd agree with Arata in this case, but it still worries me..."

Arata let out a small noise. "Huh. I hope they aren't Iwa nin, though," he remarked. "That would be awkward. Not only would we have to explain a great deal to those pesky Iwa representatives, but Raikage would be pissed. And no one really wants a pissed Raikage...right?"

There was a dead silence for a moment before the leader spoke up. "Arata...shut up," she muttered quietly.

"Aw, come on!" the ninja exclaimed, looking off to the side. "Meiji, you know I'm right, you just don't want your haughty ass to admit that you're wrong!"

"We were stationed out here by Raikage-sama," was the cold reply. "Kenpai is of little concern to us, but we must hold this area indefinitely – or until _it_ actually starts and we can join in. Raikage is counting on us. Do you really want to disappoint him?"

Arata looked confused. "That made absolutely no sense," he mumbled. "You're not even answering the question!"

"It would become a politically complicated matter if they were Iwa ninja," the golden haired kunoichi conceded after a moment. "But first, we must determine where they are. Seidon, what can you sense?"

The first man, who had been previously crouching on the ground, stood up, shaking his legs a little to get rid of the tingling sensation. "I have a vague sense of where they are," he reported. "It's enough to lead us to them, but it's almost as if they're adept at covering their 'chakra tracks'. They're definitely accomplished ninja..."

"But they looked like kids!" the other kunoichi exclaimed. "I saw it with my own eyes...they're all children, except for the big guy, the leader. They couldn't be that great!"

"Appearances can be deceiving, Kirema-chan," Arata murmured. Meiji snorted, a small smile gracing her features. "Finally, finally I can see why Raikage-sama said that you would be an adequate second in command," she muttered. "At least you have a somewhat serious side."

"They're getting further away," Seidon interrupted the two's friendly banter. "If we're going to pursue them, we're going to have to hurry."

Regaining her serious demeanour, Meiji nodded to the tracker. "Let's get a move on, then," she ordered.

The Kumo four sprang into the trees, leaving with barely a whisper of sound.

When they were well into the woods, Arata spoke up with a slight chuckle. "Kenpai-san must be worried out of his mind," he drawled out slowly. "He'll probably be pissed off at us, too."

Kirema shrugged it off. "You think everyone's pissed off at us," she retorted. "He'll understand when he realises we're hunting the most dangerous threat against him."

"That's unlikely to happen," Seidon murmured dryly. "He's always been a pigheaded man, and unless –"

In midsentence, Seidon stopped, a sharp intake of breath as he stopped moving, pausing on a branch. Everyone else stopped, looking to the ninja.

"They're swinging back this way!" Seidon called, alarm evident in his voice. "And they're coming back at a rapid pace, as if they know we're here..."

"Could be coincidence," Meiji dismissed, looking around. "Which way are they coming from?" Wordlessly, Seidon lifted an arm and pointed in the direction they had been heading previously. "They're heading directly for us."

The leader came to a decision quickly. "Everyone, hide your presence! Clear away all signs of us being here, and hide – on a tree, on the forest floor, somewhere where you can't be sensed or seen! We'll set them an ambush. Don't use lethal force until you can see what village they hail from."

Kirema pursed her lips. "This won't work if they have a sensor type with them," she muttered. "In that case, we'll have to attack them head on..."

Either her teammates ignored her, or they didn't here – but the message was clear. They would still attempt to ambush and attack the approaching ninja, whether or not they could sense them beforehand.

"They're slowing down!" this time, Seidon's voice held a hint of confusion. Kirema couldn't tell where his voice was coming from, but it seemed like he was hiding somewhere along the ground, quite a while away. That action did actually make sense – he wasn't one built for short range fighting, and when those ninja arrived the fight would most likely happen in the trees.

"Don't worry about it," Meiji ordered. "We'll just wait it out."

'Now, all that's left is the wait before they arrive...'

**

* * *

**

Naruto stiffened, feeling that all too familiar prickling sensation of _something wrong._ He stopped, resting his hand on the trunk of the tree he was perched on, unconsciously mirroring the move that Seidon had made. His survival instincts were calling to him. "Something's wrong," Naruto muttered.

Surprisingly, Katsuo agreed with him. "It's like a strange presence," he said. "It's up ahead."

Naruto jumped down from his branch onto the floor. "Let's go slower," he declared. "Ero-sennin, can you pick up anything?"

Jiraiya nodded, for once a serious expression on his face. "I've felt it for a while now, but it hasn't seemed malicious in any way until now. I agree with Minato, we'll drop our speed until we can figure out what's going on."

"Do you think it's an enemy?" Kasumi asked, dropping down as well to fall into step with Naruto.

"I don't know," he muttered. "It could be Kenpai's men, but what are the chances of a low grade guy like him hiring ninja?"

"How do you know it's a ninja?" Katsuo inquired curiously. Naruto shook his head, a small smile quirking the corners of his lips upwards. "I don't know," the blonde haired boy replied honestly. "Call it intuition...they have the feel of shinobi to me."

Jiraiya eyed Naruto warily, his brow creasing ever so slightly. How had he fought so many ninja before that he almost had this..._sixth sense_ when it came to realising their presence? Did it have to do with his mysterious past – according to Sarutobi-sensei, Naruto had shown up unconscious, exhausted and half dead near the gates of Konoha. He had refused to tell anyone about his past, but Jiraiya was sure that there was more than meets the eye when it came to the young chunin.

A small glint out of the corner of his eye snapped Jiraiya back to reality and he cursed; he had allowed his attention to wander while in what could be classified as 'enemy territory' and would now pay for it.

"Get down!" Jiraiya yelled, drawing a kunai and slashing through the ninja wire that hung suspended from two trees. As soon as he did so, a barrage of kunai flashed out. The Sannin felt a slight flash of a mixture between relief and pride as his students did as he asked immediately, dropping to the ground.

The trap had not been an extremely ingenious one – rather, it was quite a basic one taught at the academy in Konoha. But the trap had proven one thing – it was a ninja styled attack, and had just proven that it was a ninja – or a group of ninja who were attacking them. Jiraiya did wonder why such a basic attack was being used, however.

"_Too late,"_ a voice whispered, almost as if it was right next to Jiraiya's ears. Eyes wide, he spun around to see a second wire he had just pierced. Something dropped out of the sky, landing at his feet with a soft thud. Glancing around, Jiraiya noticed that the same had been done to Naruto, Kasumi and Katsuo.

'Smoke bombs!' Jiraiya realised just as the small, spherical shapes exploded in a plume of purple some, obscuring his vision. Springing back, he attempted to leave the area, but his attacker had realised this, slamming him in the shoulder painfully and forcing him back into the smoke.

There was a pained cry from Jiraiya's left – he looked around anxiously at the sound for he was sure it had been one of his students.

Moments later, the smoke started to dissipate, curling tendrils drifting away like poisonous snakes slithering in the air. Jiraiya exhaled, checking his surroundings. His heart almost stopped as he realised what had happened while he had been unable to see.

Kasumi and Katsuo were okay, looking a little winded but otherwise unharmed. They were standing together, weapons out – in Katsuo's case with his hands blazing green from medical chakra concentration – while they stared at the enemy.

Naruto, however...

A Kumo ninja dropped down from where she had been standing in the tree, a kunai pressed against Naruto's neck dangerously. His arms dangled free, so why wasn't he moving?

"Minato!" Kasumi cried out, reaching out helplessly with a hand. "Do something!"

Naruto's eyes blazed with some emotion, but his body refused to respond. The kunoichi had done something to him moments after he had been caught in the area of effect of the smoke bomb, possibly using some kind of Lightning jutsu to paralyse him. He gritted his teeth, trying to will his arms to move. They twitched, sending a wave of adrenaline coursing through him. Now only if he could make that seal in time...!

"So, you are Konoha shinobi after all," the woman who was keeping him in a tight grip murmured. Naruto guessed that she was this team's leader. The other three used a Body Flicker to momentarily speed up their body, appearing next to the kunoichi. "What are you doing here?"

Naruto's eyes flashed, trying to open his mouth to make an angry retort. However, whatever the kunoichi had used on him was still in effect, making his tongue feel like lead.

Jiraiya answered for him, though. "It should be us asking the question of you," he growled, staring at the Kumo nin. "You are Cloud ninja, trespassing in Fire Country without a permit. You have attacked us and taken one hostage. What have you to say about yourselves?"

One of the male ninja laughed. "There's nothing to say, really," he murmured. "Soon, you won't even be around to know about it...one way or another."

Jiraiya could be tactless at times, but even he didn't miss the warning glare shot to the man by his leader. They were hiding something, and it would be up to his team to find out. "Kasumi! Katsuo!" he barked. The two looked to him, and Jiraiya was about to order an attack formation when a smooth sounding voice interrupted him.

"Are you forgetting a little something?" the leader hissed, her grip on the kunai tightening for a second, turning her knuckles white. A small rivulet of blood seeped out from the sharp point of the knife, bleeding over the kunoichi's hand before finally splattering on the ground. "Make a move, and this guy won't see daylight ever again."

While the golden haired woman had been talking, Naruto had been concentrating with all of his might, slowly but surely bringing his arms into position. No one else seemed to have noticed except for Jiraiya, who was standing completely opposite to him and the woman who was holding him in place. Naruto directed his eyes to meet the Sannin's, trying to convey his message without words. Jiraiya understood, the slightest dip of his head telling Naruto that he had comprehended his meaning.

"So, what I want you to do..." the kunoichi was speaking, but Naruto barely heard her as his fingers touched. Now, just for that extra few centimetres...

"Meiji, there's a chakra coming from –" the other male started, but before he could finish his sentence he was pushed aside roughly by a force beside him.

Naruto grinned from in front of Meiji with her arm tight around his neck, his hands locked in a cross shaped seal.

Naruto grinned from behind Meiji with his arm outstretched, a dazzling blue sphere of power swirling within.

"RASENGAN!"

**

* * *

**

Kakashi was tired. The day at the academy hadn't been the thing that had made him so fatigued, but having to listen to lecture after lecture – and finally being able to _touch_ a kunai (touch a kunai! Kakashi had been throwing kunai a year before!) – quickly became monotonous, leaving the young ninja in making rather displeased with the rate that the students were progressing.

His backpack was slung over his shoulder; his newly acquired mask firmly applied to his face, and he was strolling down the street after a day's work. There was nothing that should even dent his spirits, despite his worn appearance.

However, fate was a fickle thing as a boy wearing a _blue jumpsuit_ tore around the corner, his eyes wide and full of surprise moments before crashing into him, sending both of them onto the pavement. Kakashi, despite his advanced knowledge and strength, did not quite have the speed and reflexes needed to dodge the blue menace.

A black haired youngish looking man turned the corner at a slightly more controlled place, raising an eyebrow at the two children on the ground. Kakashi fancied that he saw a red glint in the man's eye for a moment before he turned. The red disappeared.

"Ah...Hatake-san?" he asked in a low, mellow voice. Kakashi looked up, quickly disentangling himself from the other boy before standing up swiftly. The other kid still laid on the ground, panting for breath yet laughing at the same time, clutching his stomach. "S-s-so you still found me!" he gasped out between uncontrollable peals of laughter. This time it was Kakashi's turn to raise an eyebrow, staring at the black haired youth with the slightest bit of disdain. "Yes?"

The older man smiled placatingly. "You'll have to forgive Obito-kun," he murmured, walking forwards a few steps and extending a hand. 'Obito' took it, jumping off the ground and standing next to the man. "He's quite excitable, as you can see."

Kakashi merely continued to stare, not even the slightest bothered by the now awkward silence between the two parties.

"Uchiha Obito!" Obito finally burst out, letting go of the older man's hand and springing forwards with his own hand outstretched. Another pause stretched between the two before Kakashi slowly took the other boy's hand. "Hatake Kakashi," he muttered.

Minutes later, as he watched the two – possibly siblings, or father and son? – leave, Kakashi felt a sense of confusion within him. His father had taught him a little about Konoha's history, and he had heard about the Uchiha clan. However, he had not expected any of them to be quite so...excitable, as the other man had said. Rather, he had thought that they would all be serious, strong individuals.

Kakashi could call it disappointment, but it wasn't even that. It was merely a feeling.

Shrugging, he turned around to go home. It wasn't his problem and he'd think about it later, when he was less confused and tired. Right now, all he longed for was a hot shower, dinner and finally the blissful oblivion of sleep.

**

* * *

**

**Author's Notes: **Finally done with this chapter! It took me a long time simply because of some of the things in it...I had a horrible writer's block but managed to shove my way through it. Things are starting to heat up now...I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter! Please leave behind a comment and tell me what you think!

Not much with the vocab this chapter, but a little bit of interaction with our favourite team and a few enemies. Much love, everyone!

-Dream Keys

Taicho: Captain

Hi no Kuni: Fire Country


	24. Chapter 24

**Author Notes: **Since FFnet thought that I could do without receiving emails for reviews (and hence replying to them!) I've been forced to write my replies down here instead of answering through the PM system. There were just two that I wanted to reply to, and here they are:

_King0Mik: _I've always had a spot of confusion about that, but thanks for the heads up! I've pretty much stumbled my way through writing literature, so I've never known that particular rule! I'll try to adapt, but I'll definitely still be making the occasional mistake. Thanks for the review!

_Sonseba: _A friendly reviewer pointed out that particular problem when I posted it, which I _did_ change, but unfortunately forgot to edit the note at the bottom. Oops! Thanks for the correction!

This might be my last update before Christmas, so I'd like to take this chance to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas! May you all receive epic presents! =]

**

* * *

**

Instinctually, the blonde haired Kumo nin jerked her hand, the kunai positioned carefully in it slashing into her captive's throat. Not caring, she twisted around to face the new threat. However, she quickly spun around again as the kid exploded in a cloud of smoke.

Meiji's eyes widened and she staggered back from the lack of pressure against her front. 'Kawarimi! With a clone?!'

Her instincts screamed at her. Meiji tried to launch herself out of the way, but it was too late. The second Naruto was upon her in an instant, his outstretched hand drilling into the kunoichi's stomach even as she twisted away.

"Holy...what is _that?"_ Katsuo whispered, more to himself than anyone else. "That looks vicious!"

The original Naruto dropped out of the sky, his hand plunging into his kunai pouch and tossing a handful of kunai with explosive tags wrapped around their hilts almost carelessly. Landing on the ground, he suddenly stopped, staring at his hand. 'How did I –?'

"Meiji!" Kirema, the other kunoichi was at her cell leader's side in moments.

Arata was crouched next to her already, his normally carefree expression hardened into a near scowl. "Can you heal her?" he asked in a low voice, his hand reaching up to grasp the hilt of his katana.

Meiji's wounds were _intensive._ Naruto's shadow clone, which had been handling the Rasengan had dissipated upon delivering its attack, but the damage had been done. The team's leader was knocked unconscious, the tiniest bit of blood seeping out from her mouth. However, the real damage was in her abdomen, where Naruto's attack had connected. A thin spiralling shape was imprinted on Meiji, presenting a stark white comparison against her naturally dark skin. It didn't look too dangerous by itself, but the blood near Meiji's mouth told Kirema that there was some sort of internal injury. She would bet anything that the blonde brat's attack had spent some time rearranging her leader's organs.

Turning Meiji around, but still exercising as much caution as she could, Kirema inspected Meiji's back. Just as she had thought – the Rasengan had left little surface damage, but had definitely done _something_ inside, before finally erupting through the back. Meiji's back was torn up, small slivers of skin splintering apart, all coming from a small hole. It was mostly covered up by skin, but it was enough to tell of the damage done.

Kirema sucked in a repulsed breath, looking horrified. What kind of a technique was that?! She looked to Arata. "I'm not a healer!" she whispered in a hoarse breath. "And...and I'm not sure any healer would be able to fix this damage! We've got to get Meiji-taicho to a medical unit now, or she could die!"

Arata shifted, his mouth turning into a single grim line. "Take her out of the battle!" he ordered. Almost self consciously, he glanced down at his chunin vest, styled in the classic Cloud style – unlike all of the other major elemental villages, Kumo flak jackets hung over one shoulder instead of two, giving all Kumo nin a very distinct appearance.

Meiji had been the only jounin in the team, and now she was knocked out. And although the brats before him looked young, the attack made by the blonde one was proof enough that they would be a challenge. Their 'ambush' had fallen apart before they had had a chance to do some serious damage.

"Doton: Yomi Numa."

Arata's eyes widened. While he had been distracted, the tall man with white hair had made two seals, starting a jutsu. The ground beneath the chunin's feet grumbled before he felt it give way, turning into some kind of slime – or mud. Arata thrashed around, trying to free his legs, but to no avail. The mud beneath him had totally immobilised him. Now there was only one member of the team able to fight...

'Seidon, hurry up and do something,' Arata thought desperately, glancing around towards the place where his chakra sensor of a teammate was hidden.

"That's all of the team accounted for," Kasumi said, smiling grimly. "They weren't that hard to defeat, after all. Right, Minato?"

Naruto had used the ever useful Body Flicker to return to his teammates after sending a hail of kunai and explosive tags towards the Kumo nin, covering his back. "They were in Fire Country," he muttered in reply. "That's enough to start a big argument through the two countries – Fire and Lightning – which could make the countries dangerously hostile and unstable..."

"That's odd," Jiraiya suddenly interrupted, tensing visibly. "There's a fog drifting in...but there's no concentrated source of water nearby – and we're high off ground level. What's going on?"

Naruto's eyes shot wide open. An unnatural mist...it was the same technique the Demon Zabuza had used all those years ago! "Kirigakure..." he muttered. "The Hidden Mist technique!"

The fog was condensing rapidly, reducing Naruto's vision so much that he couldn't even see his teammates and Jiraiya, who were standing practically next to him. He heard a cry from his side. "How can the attacker see through this?" Kasumi called. That question set Naruto's mind running. Zabuza had been able to utilise his strengths through the mist because he was trained in the art of killing silently – he didn't need his eyes to be able to target his opponents.

"There's one more!" Jiraiya shouted. A metallic hissing through the air was the only reply, and he instinctually dived to the side, hoping that his students had done the same.

**

* * *

**

Seidon cursed under his breath as he felt his shuriken miss their targets. All four of the enemy shinobi had dodged, jumping or rolling to the side. Their presences were now moving upwards, where the mist was less condensed. "Arata!" he called to his other teammate. "Can you get out?"

Seidon was not built for close range encounters such as these. His teammates had always been enough to do that for him, while he stayed near the back, using his powers to direct them. The only reason he had been able to target the ninja through the mist was because of this power – the chakras of the four were so prominent that he had no trouble locating them. However, they refused to stay still, a major problem for the brown haired chunin.

"Not yet," came the reply. "It's starting to loosen, but I don't know how much longer it will take!"

"They're Konoha shinobi," Seidon muttered to himself, out of earshot. This really did pose a problem – if they got away, then their plan would be unveiled! Team Meiji _had_ to dispose of these people!

His chakra enhanced vision caught the blazing blue trail of something headed in his general direction. Seidon cursed, rolling to the side as another note exploded, sending mulch and vegetation flying everywhere. The ninja grimaced. What were they doing, randomly throwing explosives everywhere blindly?

"He's here," came a faint shout from up ahead. Seidon barely had enough time to look up before there was a flash of blue. A leg followed through shortly after, a harsh dropkick to the face. A grinning face momentarily took up his vision before a hand followed through, lashing out in a punch.

"What...how?" Seidon mumbled, picking himself up from the floor. A concerned call came from where Arata was still rooted in the mud.

"I've got great hearing!" Naruto called, lightly dancing forward again and kicking out. Wryly, Naruto was reminded of his enhanced senses by Kyuubi as well as all of the sessions he had spent outside of the Hokage's office, listening in on the conversations within by sending chakra to his ears. Seidon barely caught it in time, his hands latching onto the leg and twisting. However, instead of throwing the kid off balance like the move should have done, Naruto instead moved with the tug, momentarily rising into the air and using his other leg instead to catch Seidon in the chest.

"Minato, finish him off already!" Jiraiya yelled. "We've got to get to Kenpai!"

Seidon twitched imperceptibly at the sound of his client. So these ninja were after the leader of Futeki Osore, after all. "Fine," Naruto replied, grabbing a kunai from his holster. Seidon used the momentary pause the blonde made in his attack to make a series of hand seals, breathing out a sigh of relief as a section of a log replaced him.

"Damn it!" Naruto swore as the Kumo nin used the substitution technique. He looked up as Jiraiya, Katsuo and Kasumi landed next to him.

"We're going to continue," the Sannin informed him. "If it's possible, knock out one and dispose of the other. We might be able to take a hostage and find out what they're doing in Fire Country. If not..." Jiraiya's mouth hardened. "If they're too much for you, run after us. We'll be at Kenpai's house."

Naruto nodded sharply, although he was somewhat surprised that Jiraiya had entrusted the job of taking care of the Cloud nin to him.

**

* * *

**

Seidon watched as three of the Leaf ninja split from the one who had attacked him, leaping away in the direction of his client's manor. He suppressed his grimace. Kenpai was not the primary focus of his mission, and was only a reason – no matter how flimsy it was – to be in Hi no Kuni.

Now it was down to him and the blonde brat. The kid was starting to tick him off, no matter how much he tried to suppress it. He was definitely a chunin at the very least despite his young appearance, and Seidon didn't know if he could defeat him. He touched his face tenderly where the boy had hit him twice, wincing as a sharp stab of pain shot through.

Seidon was perched on the branch of one of the trees, out of the slowly fading mist. He slowly raised his hand, waiting until his opponent was at his most nervous before uttering the name of his next technique.

"Raiton: Hiraishin!"

Naruto's eyes immediately snapped towards the branch where Seidon was standing. 'Hiraishin?' he thought, mentally picturing his father's –_his! –_ technique. How could this guy be able to use it?

With a hiss, lightning pooled into Seidon's hand. He held it there for a moment, letting it sizzle before throwing his arm out towards Naruto. Belatedly, he realised that the Kumo nin was using a completely different technique.

Diving for cover, Naruto plunged a hand into his jacket pocket, taking out a scroll that he had taken to carrying around everywhere. From in front of the tree he was hiding behind, Naruto could see the lightning from Seidon's technique frying the ground, flickering with dangerous intensity. Taking a deep breath, Naruto stretched his arm out quickly, throwing the scroll in the direction of the origin of the jutsu.

Turning around as the lightning technique flickered slightly – a sign of the wielder's surprise – Naruto scratched his finger with a kunai before flinging it towards the scroll, the sharp point catching the clasp of the scroll and unfurling it while the blood on the tip splattered across the seal.

A wave of water roared out of the scroll, catching Seidon by surprise. Before he could release the lightning technique, the water descended upon him _and_ the lightning.

Naruto almost winced as he heard the man's agonising scream from the branch as his own technique was turned on him. However, he was forced back to alertness as he felt a presence behind him.

Naruto kicked out, at the same time twisting backwards and somersaulting. Arata, the last of the team, was finally free of the mud in Jiraiya's technique. He drew his katana in a sharp, jerking motion before slashing down with it, towards Naruto.

On his part, the blonde was crouching, his kunai holster closed without time for him to draw a weapon. Desperately, he watched the blade come down on him before a niggling voice in the back of his head screamed at him, shouting for Naruto to get a move on.

Naruto hissed as his hands flew into seals without him prompting them to, flying with such speed that the user himself was surprised. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" the words flew out of his lips of their own accord. A clanging of steel on steel alerted Naruto that he had summoned a toad with a shield – and that same toad had just defended him from being chopped in half.

Slowly, lazily, the toad – who was about the same height as Naruto – turned around, not even heeding the surprised face of Arata behind him. "Oh, come on," it complained in a high pitched voice despite its size. It vaguely reminded Naruto of Gamatatsu, although that particular toad had been far smaller than the one currently in front of him. "Next time, summon me at a time when I can at least know my opponent!"

With that final complaint, it disappeared in a cloud of smoke, leaving a thoroughly berated Naruto.

Arata, who had already recovered from the shock of being blocked by a _toad_ of all things, had hurried to his comrade's side. "Seidon! Oi, Seidon, are you alright?"

Naruto whipped around, staring at the Cloud ninja and starting to run towards them. Anticipating this, Arata slipped an arm around Seidon's shoulders, jumping with his teammate onto the branch of a tree.

"...Kenpai!" exclaimed a half delirious Seidon. "We've got to get..."

"Forget Kenpai!" Arata snarled angrily. "Our mission is in ruins anyway! We've got to get to Kirema and Meiji!"

Before Naruto could leap up and attack them again, Arata sprang away again, fleeing with his teammate in tow. "Damn," the chunin murmured. He dropped down to the ground, inspecting the waterlogged remains of his water scroll before shaking his head. It was irreparable, and Naruto would just have to use a spare scroll to seal some more water. He kicked it to the side before hastily shoving some of the dirt from the ground over it, attempting to hide the remains of the battle. Then he patted it down, making it seem more natural.

Now all that remained to do in this place was assassinate Kenpai, and the mission would be over and done with. They could all return home, get a nice B rank mission pay and live comfortably for quite a while. The Kumo nin were probably the greatest threat that had faced Team Jiraiya – now all four members were out of the picture and heading _away_ from Kenpai and his manor. Perhaps the Konoha team would have an easy run of it now.

**

* * *

**

Arata finally slid his arm away from the other man's shoulders, out of breath from carrying himself and Seidon so far. He dropped to the ground, kneeling in a still position for several moments. Then, after he had caught his breath, the usually passive man erupted in a shower of colourful curses and general swearing.

Seidon lifted his head to stare at his friend wearily. "Raikage-sama really is going to be pissed at us this time," he murmured barely audibly.

"Where the hell are Kirema and Meiji?" Arata continued in his tirade. If he had heard Seidon, he chose not to answer him. "They can't have gone that far, they know we have to stay here. Where could they have gone?"

"Meiji was in a critical condition," Seidon replied. "Kirema probably took her to a medical unit. There has to be one ar –"

"How does Kirema even know where the medic nin are?" Arata cut him off, standing abruptly and starting to pace. "Meiji...Meiji could die before Kirema manages to get her anywhere. Unless she took a look at that map..."

At the slight lifting of the corners of Seidon's lips, Arata sank bonelessly into the ground, a strangled emitting from his mouth. "Oh...Seidon, please don't tell me..." he mumbled, grinding the heel of his hand into his forehead. "You mean she actually..."

Seidon dipped his head just slightly, a smirk now threatening to engulf his face.

"She actually studied the map," Arata muttered, sitting up. "I told her we wouldn't need it. We were just supposed to sit out here until the order!"

"We still need to find them, though," Seidon answered. "Then we can get back to that village. With the death of Kenpai by those Konoha shinobi we'll be rid of another pest. He would have had to die, anyway. He was just there for convenience in the first place." The brown haired chunin started to get to his feet.

Arata grimaced at the mention of the Konoha nin, the very name bringing a sour taste to his mouth. "What are we going to about the Leaf ninja?"

Seidon paused, a hand shooting out to the tree he had been slumped against previously for balance. "...Forget about them," he muttered. "With any luck, they'll be clueless about everyone else's movements and they'll brush it off as a coincidence. In the very worst situation..."

Seidon's voice was bleak when he next spoke. "The Third Great Shinobi World War will commence." Seconds later, he amended his previous statement. "Prematurely."

Arata shook his head, helping his teammate out by extending a hand. "I knew we shouldn't have worn our forehead protectors," he grunted.

**

* * *

**

"Homura, Koharu. What a pleasant surprise!" Sarutobi smiled as the door opened, revealing his two former teammates and current advisors.

Homura snorted, grabbing a seat and making himself right at home. "Cut that crap, Hiruzen," he grumbled. "You know you called us."

Koharu busied herself with a nearby window, opening it when it was previously closed and letting some fresh air in. "You _do_ have something interesting to share with us, right?" she eyed Sarutobi critically. "And I do hope you're not going senile. You're not quite that old yet."

The Hokage laughed softly. "True, true. I'll cut to the chase then."

He stood up abruptly, walking out towards the window behind his chair and resting his fingers on the sill. "I received two messages from Sakumo today," Sarutobi said. Both of the councillors said nothing but rather continued to watch the Hokage silently.

The Sandaime turned around, looking wearier than his middle aged years. "He included in his first message a report that he had passed by several ninja teams from other countries. They were not all headed in the same direction, but the fact that they were even in Fire Country...that fact is unsettling."

Homura sat forward, pushing his oval rimmed glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Foreign shinobi in Fire Country?" he asked, a glint of steel in his voice. "And several teams of them. Why?"

Koharu turned from her position by the window, hands clasped behind her back. "What did the second message entail?" she asked. "Surely Hatake-san would not send a second message so quickly if there was no reason to."

At this, Sarutobi's mouth tightened even more. "In the second message, Sakumo reported that he and his teammates had stumbled across the border guards patrolling near the Fire and Rice borders. They were all dead."

Sarutobi then sighed around his pipe, pinching the bridge of his nose. "The troubling thing is that even though the information in these two messages were important, Sakumo neglected to put them in some sort of code. He must have been in quite a hurry to deliver these, or he would have put much more care into them."

"Hiruzen, how can we stop this?" Homura demanded. "We don't have enough intel to sort out this threat! The next world war could be upon us and we'd be helpless to it!"

"There is more," Sarutobi said. He walked back over to his chair, seating himself. "One of our chunin teams – who were led by Kiriai Akane – have gone missing. They were due back two days ago and there has not been a response."

"And you think these two incidents are related," Homura murmured, leaning back finally. "Perhaps the team defected... –"

"That's not possible," Sarutobi protested. "The Will of Fire burns strongly in all of them, and I know the team leader Akane on a personal basis. They would not turn on Konoha easily."

The three in the room were silent again for another moment.

"Send a reconnaissance team out into Fire Country. Send several, if we have the manpower necessary," Koharu ordered, coming to a decision. "And pull Jiraiya back to Konoha, already! We need his spy network to see what on earth is happening."

"And if we have solid evidence, we might send an emissary to the offending countries," Homura continued, smiling ever so slightly. "Perhaps send a message to remind them exactly who they are dealing with?"

"But Hiruzen was never one for more...aggressive tactics," Koharu interrupted quietly.

Sarutobi sighed again. "Go...just go," he muttered, waving a hand. "I'll give your suggestions some thought, but I do hope that this will be resolved soon."

But as the Hokage watched his two advisors leave the office, he felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. He suddenly regretted sending Naruto, Jiraiya and his teammates out on a mission just before such an important time in history.

Another thought occurred to him – only one team had been nominated to the Chunin Exams. Two of them were heirs of prominent clans in Konoha, and the other was the son of the head of the Konoha Hospital. Even if they didn't have such important roles, Sarutobi would have cherished them just as equally, but the question remained – would it be safe to send them to Suna in the turbulent times the world was about to be thrown into? Or would he be sending Inoichi, Chouza and Katsuo to their deaths?

Sometimes Sarutobi hated being the Hokage. He wondered how his sensei, the Second Hokage had ever put up with the position.

**

* * *

**

"Where should we head now?"

"Nowhere very fast," was the dry reply of Kyougi. "We should apply a transformation now and start walking. Somehow we'll avoid any guard patrols and get to Kumo all in good time."

Kaisan rolled her eyes. "What a great answer!" she replied.

"Hokage-sama was very vague about the mission parameters," Sakumo supplied helpfully. "He merely asked us to infiltrate Kumogakure, with nothing else specified. I still think he's trying to send us a subliminal message, though."

Kyougi shook his head, suddenly serious. "I would have thought that Jiraiya's spy network would have been enough to cover Kumo for us. Why would Hokage-sama still send us out?"

"He _did_ mention something when I visited him again," Sakumo replied slowly, his brow furrowing slightly. "Jiraiya does have a spy in Kumo, but the feeling I got was that that same spy didn't have any room to manoeuvre, and couldn't send out any intelligence."

"So our job is to get to this guy and get the information?" Kaisan blew out a big breath. "The Hokage could have made it a little bit easier and just told us that. Do we have the spy's name?"

"That would be making things too easy," Kyougi said sarcastically. "And even if we did have his – or her – name, it wouldn't do any good. We wouldn't be able to ask around, so essentially the name means nothing, and has no value at all to us."

"I sense something up ahead," Sakumo suddenly interrupted. "Everyone, quickly!"

Three sets of hands flew simultaneously into a set of seals. "Henge!"

Seconds later, after a small burst of smoke, instead of three well dressed, dangerous looking ninja, there stood two men, wearing coarse clothes that made them seem like they came from the agricultural department, with a young girl of perhaps ten years or more.

Scant moments later from the transformation technique performed by the three Konoha shinobi, a handful of Kumo nin dropped out of the sky onto the road, striding down in single file. Sakumo, Kaisan and Kyougi only received a single, curious glance before they were thrust out of the other ninjas' eyes, the Kumo shinobi already discarding them as a possible threat.

Once the Kumo nin had all but disappeared from Sakumo's line of sight, he breathed out, reprimanding himself for not being more aware of his surroundings. "A few more hours," he muttered lowly. "Then we'll find a place to stay."

"How do we even know we're going the right way?" Kaisan mumbled from her low position in the guise of a little girl. Kyougi looked at her sympathetically.

"You've never been to Lightning Country, have you?" he asked, smiling a little. He pointed into the distance, to a set of mountains closely grouped together and so tall that the grey clouds covered its peaks. "See those mountains? The highest parts of them are part of Kumo."

Kaisan huffed. "What a stupid place to live," she grumbled. "How they ever have any air is a great mystery to me."

**

* * *

**

Raitei watched from his apartment balcony as yet another Kumo team was deployed, leaving from the main gates and descending down the mountain. Ever since a week ago, the ninja had been restless, and the Raikage had made an extremely disturbing announcement. Then, after that, a team of Iwa nin had entered the village. They had gone straight to the Raikage's office and had left hours later, smiles upon their faces as they departed from Kumo.

Shortly after this strange event, Kumo shinobi had started to trickle out, to what end Raitei still didn't know. However, he had kept his ears open for rumours, and the ones he had heard were every bit as disturbing as the Raikage's speech.

Now the tall blonde haired man was in a state of almost limbo – he had no other nearby contacts to share his knowledge with, and could only wait for a reprieve. A certain toad had visited him late last night, informing him that a team of Konoha nin would be entering Kumo shortly, and he would be able to impart his information onto _them,_ instead of the normal conveying of messages through toads.

The toad had then winked out of existence as soon as it had finished delivering its memo, leaving Raitei once again alone in the darkness. He had worried for a while that the shinobi population of the Hidden Cloud would descend on him – security had increased exponentially as soon as the first few teams had been sent out – but all seemed to be well. He hadn't dared an attempt to bring the toad back, for that kind of an action would use up a lot of chakra, which would definitely be noticeable amongst the civilian quarters where Raitei lived.

Now the only thing Raitei could do was wait until this team arrived. Hopefully, it would be obvious to him when they arrived so he could approach them without fear of talking to the wrong person – at this time of the year, it was not very often that civilians entered Kumo. Actually, it wasn't very often at any time in the year that there were visitors to Kumo.

There was a knock at the door. Raitei slid open the balcony door before closing it behind him, crossing the room quickly to answer the door. It was probably one of his neighbours who were living in the same apartment complex as him – they often talked to each other, but every time Raitei felt like an outsider. After all, it wasn't as if any of the others were undercover spies who weren't loyal at all to Kumo.

**

* * *

**

Naruto burst out from the last line of trees, emerging into broad daylight once more. Turning his head, he caught sight of the large and imposing manor which belonged to Kenpai – it was far too expensive looking for such a poor village, Naruto thought. Perhaps it wouldn't be so hard to find the strength to kill this man.

He walked a little closer, and spotted Jiraiya hanging at a perpendicular angle to the wall, stuck to it with chakra and carefully easing a window open. Kasumi and Katsuo were nowhere to be seen. Even as Naruto approached the Sannin looked up, easily sensing his presence. At once he stopped prying the window, instead gesturing for his blonde student to join him.

Naruto glanced around before climbing up the wall, 'crouching' as he finally joined Jiraiya. "What's going on?" he whispered. Wordlessly, Jiraiya stuck a hand into his equipment pouch, drawing out a radio headset. Naruto accepted it, pulling it on and tuning in.

"...no, not that room. No...someone's coming out, head into the other one!" Naruto heard Kasumi whisper heatedly.

"Katsuo's on the other side of the house, already inside. I'm going to head in from here, and Kasumi's on the roof garden, sending us directions," Jiraiya explained, once more leaning down and pulling. This time, the window slid up easily, proof that the white haired pervert had actually been making progress while he fiddled with the latch.

"There's a roof garden?" Naruto retorted somewhat sarcastically. "And what's my role in this?"

"Well..." at this point, Jiraiya tapped something on his wireless set, ensuring that both of Naruto's other teammates heard his next message. "I want Minato to use that neat little trick he played on that Cloud kunoichi. I'm pretty sure that could be classified as an assassination technique, right?"

"It doesn't ki –" Naruto started to retort, but stopped. He thought back to when he had first used a completed Rasengan – Kabuto had been his target, and the medic nin had told Naruto that if he had not used his advanced healing abilities the moment the Rasengan had impacted, then he would have surely died.

"Glad you agree, Minato!" Jiraiya chirped cheerfully, pushing Naruto and almost making the blonde fall off the wall in the process. "Now, Kasumi says that Kenpai is currently holed up in his study. It has a nice window with a great view out onto the forest." He pointed in the direction of the trees, prompting Naruto to get a move on.

As he moved, Naruto wondered why Jiraiya had nominated him to commit the actual act of assassinating the man. Surely he wasn't the only person who was capable of doing such an act – had the Sannin put him up for this by assigning Katsuo and Kasumi to different positions?

With these questions in his mind, the chunin moved away, grabbing the side of the wall with his hands and heaving himself over. There were a great deal of windows on this side, and Naruto resigned himself to – carefully! – checking each of these.

**

* * *

**

Seidon suddenly snapped to alertness, his back stiffening as he stopped unexpectedly, landing on a branch. Arata, who had been immediately behind him, jerked to a stop hastily. "What's wrong?" he demanded.

"I can see them!" Seidon replied, squeezing his eyes shut as he applied some more chakra to them. The sense of chakra he had around him sharpened, and what had been blurry blue outlines became clear. "Kirema and Meiji. They're with...three. Three other people."

"Medics?" Arata questioned, before shaking his head roughly. "It doesn't matter. Just lead us to them!"

His teammate nodded, opening his eyes once more. The pupils had become diluted, almost becoming the same colour as his sclera. Seidon took a step forward before faltering, hissing as he dropped to one knee. Arata was at his side in an instant, flinging Seidon's arm around his shoulders again. "Don't push yourself!" he ordered, helping the other man up. "Now, which way are they?"

Seidon shrugged Arata off, and leapt away at a different angle to the way they had been travelling previously. "They're only a few minutes away!" he called back to Arata.

**

* * *

**

"Someone's coming," Meiji murmured faintly from her position horizontal upon the ground, her eyes closed. "Two people...Seidon and Arata. They're coming."

One of the three medics – the female one – poked Meiji in the ribs, causing the kunoichi to wince and snap her eyes open. "Don't go pushing yourself now," she reprimanded, unknowingly mirroring Arata's words. "If you use your chakra now, while you're still healing, you'll only remain injured for a longer amount of time. And I'm quite sure you don't want that at all."

"I'm just relieved that you didn't die on us," Kirema remarked softly, slowly uncurling from her sitting pose by her team leader and stomping one of her feet, trying to rid them of the feeling of pins and needles. "That attack looked like it was meant to kill. How on earth did you manage to negate its effects enough to not die of blood loss on the way?"

Meiji chuckled weakly, her eyes sliding shut. "The runt's attack didn't hit me full on," she muttered. Kirema was stunned.

"What do you mean, it didn't hit you full on?!" she demanded, almost shouting. "You nearly died, your stomach _singed_ of all things in some strange pattern and your back was ripped to shreds! How can you say that...that you didn't even bear the full brunt of it?"

"Like you said, the attack was meant to kill. The only reason it didn't was because I dodged – or tried to dodge. It didn't really work like it was meant to, but at least I managed to survive."

"Kirema! Meiji!" the shout came from the other side of the bank that the five were situated on. Meiji struggled to get up, but another of the medics pushed her firmly down again.

"I assume those are your teammates," he said. "They look relatively unscathed, but we'll run a diagnostic scan just in case."

"You two are safe!" Seidon greeted the two females of their team with obvious relief. Meiji smiled.

"Neither of you are hurt too badly?" she asked, looking up at the two. Seidon shook his head in reply, easing Meiji's concerns. "Then we've got to head back to Futeki Osore as soon as possible," she murmured. "With any luck, we won't run into those Konoha nin again. We can't match them in our current states, and they have two more members who have unknown abilities."

"You're not going anywhere!" the female medic nin exclaimed, shaking her finger at the team. "Meiji-san, in your current state, any kind of exercise will only exacerbate your injuries! You'll be left as injured as when you first got here, and we won't be around to help you!"

"Then come with us," Arata said, calm now that his whole team had been reunited. "You won't have to fight or anything, just consider yourselves...insurance."

The woman, the apparent leader of her medic team, shook her head sadly. "Sorry," she answered him regretfully. "We have our orders from the Raikage, and we're stationed here until we receive new orders. We can't go with you."

"Stay for a day or two," the last member, the one who hadn't talked yet, said. "You can all take a rest for a while before going back."

"Like you, we have our orders from Raikage-sama," Meiji retorted, turning over and using her arms and knees to lift herself up. She gritted her teeth, allowing one of her hands to snake to her stomach, feeling the tender skin and muscle tensing under the touch.

"We're leaving," Kirema concluded, helping Meiji up.

**

* * *

**

Kasumi shifted, irritated by the strange plants that someone had plopped in pots around the door. They were itchy and sharp, sometimes biting into the kunoichi's skin. However, she refrained from erupting into a series of choice words, instead trying to concentrate on her mission. So far, she had saved Katsuo several times from being spotted as he moved around the house. From her position, she had almost a bird's eye view over the manor – an impressive array of windows set into the ground gave Kasumi a great view of the going-ons of the people below.

Now Jiraiya was breaking in too, making Kasumi's job all the more harder. For the second time, she wished Naruto had been the one with this duty – with his shadow clones, it would have been easy to keep multiple eyes on his teammates.

Not that Kasumi wanted to be the one who assassinated Kenpai, at any rate. She had had her experiences with killing before, and they had not been the most pleasant memories in her life.

"Kasumi, I'm in," came a whisper through her radio. It was Jiraiya, and he had slipped through the window already. Kasumi swallowed. Now came the hard part.

She skated around rows and rows of spiky, dangerous looking plants, shuddering at the very sight of them. "Sensei...just take out a servant and take their appearance," Kasumi whispered back, her voice cracking on the last word. Jiraiya must have heard it, for he instantly agreed.

"Whatever's okay with you," he murmured. "Anyone near me?"

Taking a deep breath, she headed back into the fray, batting away something that looked peculiarly like a cactus, before finding another pane.

Kasumi knelt down, placing her hand on the cool glass and lowering her head, looking down the corridor. "There's one just down the hallway, Jiraiya-sensei," she said, eyeing the busty female striding down the corridor and thinking that Jiraiya would have a field day with transforming into her.

Then she grimaced, shaking her head. Now was not the time to be bitter about Jiraiya's perverted tendencies.

**

* * *

**

Naruto had found the window. As he peered into it, he could see the back of Kenpai, his shoulders hunched as he leaned over something on his desk.

His radio flickered to life, crackling in his ear, and Naruto instinctually flinched before closing his eyes and shaking his head. Now wasn't the time to be nervous!

"Katsuo and I found a whole heap of guys around the manor," Jiraiya's voice crackled over the radio. "We got rid of them, so no one should be interfering. Go ahead and get rid of Kenpai."

Naruto didn't say anything, knowing that if he spoke he would be heard by the man inside. Jiraiya seemed to understand this. "Anytime you want, Minato," he murmured.

Naruto shifted, wondering how he would go about the assassination. Any attempts to open the window would be fruitless – Kenpai would hear it almost immediately and would run for help. Naruto's best bet would be to simply crash through the window, doing what he did best – charging in blindly and hoping that Kenpai had slow reflexes. Being a civilian, that was probably likely.

The blonde haired chunin moved almost like a spider, shifting his feet so he was once again standing perpendicular to the ground, with his arms on the window pane. Noticing that the latch was undone from the inside, Naruto crouched down, slipping his fingers under the sliding part of the window. Perhaps lifting it wouldn't be such a bad idea – if it didn't make a huge noise – and would generally be more beneficial to the mission, causing less collateral damage.

To Naruto's delight, the window slid open easily, not even making a single squeak as it rolled smoothly up. Naruto pushed it as far as his arm would allow him to without moving his body, suddenly hoping that Kenpai wouldn't feel the extra chill in the air.

Instinctually, Naruto held his hand out, concentrating on his chakra. Immediately, a ball of chakra pooled into his hand, spinning and swirling blue casting a near ethereal light.

Thankfully, either Kenpai didn't notice, or Naruto's eyes were playing tricks on him. When Jiraiya's voice sounded again, asking him what he was doing, Naruto acted, not wanting to lose any more time than he already had.

Kenpai, being the civilian he was without any kind of ninja training, didn't even notice there was a ninja behind him until Naruto's Rasengan sank into his back, approximately opposite to where his heart was located.

There was a horrible tearing noise as fabric, skin and bone snapped, the Rasengan tearing through his body in an entire line, destroying his muscles, heart and ribs before finally bursting through his chest in a gory explosion.

Naruto's hand hadn't even entered Kenpai's body.

With a slight gurgling noise, the now deceased man slumped forward, onto his table. Naruto winced as he heard Kenpai's nose snap as he uncaringly smashed his face into the desk, not even feeling it because he was already dead.

"He's...dead," Naruto confirmed through his microphone.

With a loud crash, Katsuo and Jiraiya entered the room, the door slamming into the wall as they came in carelessly, eyeing the slumped figure of their target on the table.

There was another crashing noise from outside along with the tinkling of falling glass as Kasumi broke through one of the windows set into the roof, dropping down into the building.

"What happened?" she asked somewhat breathlessly, entering the office room to also stare at Kenpai's dead body. "...Oh."

"The servants are going to come around to check on this mess," Naruto warned, stepping backwards and pushing the window all the way up, swinging himself out. Jiraiya's eyes flicked towards the open doorway, quickly stepping further in and slamming it closed before locking it.

"Let's leave," he ordered, following Naruto. There was a hesitant knock at the door, spurring Kasumi and Katsuo into action. They leaped out of the open window, with Naruto gently clicking it shut as all of the team exited.

Jiraiya took the lead once they were out of the building, leading his team down to the tunnel that they had found earlier in the day. "We're going to get out of the village," he told his students. "That means we're going through it and out of the main gate. With some luck, no one will really notice us."

"We're heading home?" Kasumi asked, smiling slightly. Jiraiya nodded affirmatively back at her before heading into the large channel, relieved that the lamp lights had not gone out yet despite leaving the entrance unblocked.

The trek back down the mountainside – via the tunnel provided for them by the late Kenpai – was rather uneventful, and much more relaxed due to the completion of their mission. When Team Jiraiya reached the bottom, Jiraiya gestured for all of them to come out before grunting and pushing the boulder back into place, sealing up the entrance again.

Katsuo blinked at the sudden glare of the sun, rubbing at his eyes a little to reduce the brightness. Then he stumbled forwards, gesturing towards his teammates. "Come on, guys!" he exclaimed, laughing a little. "Don't you want to get home?"

Kasumi snorted, skipping forwards to join the only genin left in their team. "Of course I do!" she retorted, although it was without any real bite. After all, they had just completed another mission – a B ranked one, to boot! The pay that would await them in Konoha...

"Come on, Minato!" Kasumi called, although her voice was still soft – despite the euphoria of a mission well done, she still had enough common sense not to be overly excited about it.

However, Naruto wasn't sharing in the happy mood that affected his teammates. He was busy thinking over the events that had transpired, and wondering how on earth –

_Namikaze Minato, the Yondaime Hokage, completed the Rasengan in three years._

Naruto however, had started the Rasengan training when he – Minato! – was twelve. There was only one thought going through his head now.

'Minato, what the hell?'

**

* * *

**

**Author Notes:** Whoa. _That_ was written almost in one sitting! Once again, I've broken my longest chapter record! Lots of dialogue in this chapter, and uh oh, is that a plot twist I see coming our way? Until next time! Comments, constructive criticism, questions and corrections are always welcome!

-Dream Keys

Taicho: Captain

Doton: Yomi Numa: Earth Style: Swamp of the Underworld

Kirigakure: Hidden Mist

Hi no Kuni: Fire Country

Raiton: Hiraishin: Lightning Release: Flying Thunder God (not to be confused with Namikaze Minato's technique)

Kuchiyose no Jutsu: Summoning Technique

Henge: Transform


	25. Chapter 25

**Author Notes:** Hey everyone! I hope you all had a great Christmas and a happy New Year! Now, getting down to business...I'd like to address _Sonseba _again, who reviewed once again anonymously with a question.

It's never 'happened' before, at least not in the period of time that Naruto/Minato exists in, if you get what I mean. There has been no definite answer as to what has really happened. The body Naruto exists in currently doesn't belong to Minato or Naruto himself – although Naruto believes it is Minato's. No one knows whose it is. After all, remember that he was zapped back in time to the _outside_ of Konoha! Only the evil little Minato in Naruto's brain knows all...

I'm so sorry this chapter is late! Christmas and New Year celebrations kept me busy for pretty much the whole week, and I haven't had much time to sit down and actually write. And to think I left you guys with such a poor ending for the last chapter...once again, sorry to keep you waiting!

**

* * *

**

Jiraiya sighed, cracking his neck to the side. He and his team had been on the road for a few hours already, but so far none of his students had opened their mouths – a rather rare occurrence, in his eyes. Kasumi had looked like she wanted to break the silence that hung over the team once or twice; however, she stopped for some reason, biting her lip and looking down again without saying a word. Katsuo on the other hand, was drifting along the edge of the team by himself, possibly thinking of the mission they had just completed.

Naruto himself was frowning like there was no tomorrow, occasionally staring off into space before blinking, shaking his head and once more seemingly concentrating on the path. However, as soon as he did so his eyes would glaze over again, forcing him into the same loop again and again. It was as if he wasn't even focusing on where they were going – but then, everyone had to retain some kind of awareness of where they were travelling, even the most accomplished of ninja. At this rate, Naruto could be caught off guard by a change in scenery, of all things!

Jiraiya frowned too, mirroring Naruto's facial expression. Could Naruto possibly be still mulling over the assassination? Had Naruto not been ready, as Jiraiya had thought he might have been?

Abruptly, even as the Sannin was watching, Naruto froze in mid air, staring straight forward but not making any movement. Moments later, he relaxed loosely, his head slumping onto his chest and his entire body pitching forward as he began his descent downward, clothes flapping uselessly in the wind.

Jiraiya yelled out, changing direction immediately in order to catch Naruto. Kasumi and Katsuo, who hadn't yet seen what had just transpired, jerked at the sound of Jiraiya's call before they too dashed forward towards the other members of their team.

The Toad Sannin dived through the air, ignoring the air flying into his eyes and streamlining his body to reach the ground before Naruto, arms extended as the boy crashed unknowingly into him. Jiraiya groaned as the impact pushed both of them to the ground despite his preparedness to take his weight, gently lowering Naruto to the ground.

"Sensei! Minato!" Katsuo called out, landing on the leafy floor next to Naruto. He reached out, waving his hand in front of the blonde chunin's face. Naruto's eyes were wide open, staring blankly into the air, almost as if he was dead. His arms were splayed limply to the side with no strength in them at all. "What on earth...?"

Jiraiya suddenly straightened in his kneeling position by Naruto's side, whipping his head backwards to stare in the direction of the village they had come from.

"What is it, sensei?" Kasumi asked from behind him, also turning her head. "Is someone following us?"

Jiraiya shook his head, frowning. "I left a shadow clone behind earlier, before we left. It just dissipated. Those Kumo nin...they're on the way already. They might pursue us if that chakra sensor guy manages to catch sight of us. We've got to move quickly and get out of his range!"

"Sure thing, Jiraiya-sensei," Katsuo said easily, grunting as he placed one of Naruto's arms around his shoulder. Jiraiya finally let out a smile, gesturing for the genin to let go.

"Let me do that," the Sannin replied. "I can move faster than you with Minato." He took Naruto from Katsuo, slinging the chunin's inert body over his shoulder. "Let's go!"

As the company began movement again, Jiraiya's eyes narrowed minutely, silently thinking over the events that had happened.

'I'm not being my usual self,' he mused to himself. 'I haven't taken a mission like this with students before. Perhaps returning to Konoha shall do me some good.'

**

* * *

**

Naruto groaned, sitting up and spitting out what felt like slime from his mouth. He wiped a hand across his face, letting out a resigned grunt as he realised he was sitting in the sewer water of his mind.

A ray of light fell over Naruto and he looked up, squinting against the bright light that shone upon his face. He scowled. "Minato, stop with the dramatics."

Abruptly, the light disappeared, leaving the two blondes in the dank chamber once again. Minato stepped forwards, flinging something through the air. It sank into the water before Naruto with a small plop. "You're the one who should stop!" he retorted angrily, bending down to Naruto's level. "Thanks to you, the future is now unstable! Do you know what you have done?!"

Slowly, Naruto reached out a hand and searched through the water for the thing Minato had dropped. His fingers brushed against something sharp and he gritted his teeth, feeling a minute amount of blood well from his finger. Now knowing what the object was, Naruto's hand ghosted up the handle, his index finger sliding into the familiar metal ring and dragging the object out of the water.

"A kunai?" he asked questioningly, cocking his head to the side. The question seemed to tick Minato off even more, as the older man scowled more fiercely.

"Yes, a kunai!" he said, jabbing a finger in Naruto's direction. "Why? Why did you have to use a Rasengan instead of this? You idiot!"

Naruto stared at the sharp steel knife dangling from his finger. Now that Minato mentioned it...why _had_ he used the Rasengan?

"_I want Minato to use that neat little trick he played on that Cloud kunoichi. I'm pretty sure that could be classified as an assassination technique, right?"_

Jiraiya's words came floating back into Naruto's head. Minato was right! Why had he just listened to Jiraiya? He didn't know anything! A kunai would have been sufficient! Naruto glanced back up towards Minato, who had sloshed towards him some more.

"You have to be careful!" the Yondaime hissed. "I don't understand how you can just simply change things just by whim. You're not acting like a shinobi! Where is your Will of Fire? You're not a Konoha ninja if you can't do these things right!"

"Shut up!" Naruto yelled, throwing the kunai towards Minato. The older blonde caught it between his fingers deftly, shoving it deeply into one of his trench coat pockets. "I asked you once before why I couldn't change anything, and you didn't give me a proper answer! I feel so _useless_ here!"

Naruto looked away, sighing. "If I managed to change something here, then maybe it would have been for the best. Maybe...maybe Sasuke wouldn't have turned to Orochimaru. Or even...maybe Orochimaru would have never defected..."

"You can't be sure that anything good would happen," Minato replied harshly. "What if you managed to make things worse? How would you rectify it, then?"

"You're so stubborn!" Naruto shouted, throwing his fist into the water with a loud splash in exasperation. "Why don't you get it? You're not even acknowledging that there is a chance!"

Minato closed his eyes, standing up taller. "I wish the events of the past could be changed too," he said. Then, his countenance grew harder. "But that will never happen. One change is enough to affect the entire world," Minato continued coldly. "The Shinigami would eat your soul."

Naruto blinked, clambering to his knees. "The Shinigami...?" he asked in confusion.

"Do you know why you are in this body?" Minato asked. "You attempted to perform a Hiraishin, but accidentally activated part of the written seal – that is, time. Somehow, through some sheer idiotic luck you managed to pull yourself here."

Minato started to pace. "But it's not just you!" he said. "I went through this too! I activated a seal array and ended up in a six year old Minato's body. I had a Minato in my mind as well, advising me. And I followed the rules, unlike you!"

With a low growl, Naruto pushed his hands into the water, sending a huge wave towards Minato. "Go away!" he yelled. "I don't want to hear that! That was _your_ problem. I'm going to do things my way!"

With that, Naruto squeezed his eyes shut, willing himself away from the sewer. As he opened his eyes again he saw the world around him dimming, fading into black with an urgent looking Minato reaching for him.

**

* * *

**

Naruto awoke with a start, feeling the signs of a massive headache forming behind his eyes. He groaned, blinking groggily, and suppressed a cry as he felt the world jolt before turning him upside down. His feet touched a flat surface and he looked up, seeing a familiar face staring back down at him.

"Ero-sennin!" Naruto exclaimed, realising that Jiraiya had been carrying him the whole time he had been unconscious. Jiraiya sighed, rolling his eyes.

"And here I was, hoping that you had forgotten about that phase already..." he mumbled. "What happened, by the way?"

Naruto shrugged, looking away. "I don't really know myself," the chunin muttered in reply.

Katsuo, who had been travelling on a level lower than Jiraiya and Naruto, leapt back up in file with Naruto. "Back to life, huh?" he grinned, before adopting a more serious look. "Maybe you should see my dad when we get back to Konoha. He can give you a check up or something..."

Naruto smiled faintly, but shook his head. "Thanks, but I think I'll pass," he said. He looked up ahead just in time to see Kasumi, his other teammate, drop back from where she had been taking point.

"Don't be too sure about that," she replied to his statement. "Tetsuya-san is wonderful at what he does!"

Jiraiya slowed down, letting his students take the lead. Having Naruto back again...it was almost as if he was the glue that held the team together. Without him, they all drifted away...

Well, something good had definitely come out of Naruto's awakening.

**

* * *

**

The air _was_ getting thinner, Sakumo noted with a bare glimmer of distaste. He and his teammates had been crunching up the slope for a few hours now, with the bleak landscape that was the mountainside showing little difference during the whole trek. However, shortly before, they had passed through a tightly bunched circle of clouds – becoming hopelessly drenched in the process – which had to be a good sign. Sakumo himself suspected that the clouds had been a technique of some sort performed by Cloud ninja, although he had no evidence to support the theory. The very air around him was saturated with chakra, after all. He couldn't tell if there was any in clouds or not.

"We're going to be intercepted soon," Konoha's White Fang murmured quietly. "It's been too quiet, and there's no evidence of the –"

"State your business inside Kumogakure."

Sakumo froze, unsure if the ninja who had just stepped out had overheard him or not. He hadn't even felt his presence due to the huge amounts of chakra in the atmosphere – it had really made his chakra detection skills go awry.

The shinobi was wearing a mask that covered his entire face, with a cloth wrapped around his neck. He was wearing the distinctive Kumo chunin vest, but somehow Sakumo doubted that he was alone – or a chunin. Even through the sense-dulling chakra mist the Konoha jounin could see that this ninja clearly was not to be underestimated.

"We're travellers," Sakumo spoke up. "Visiting a relative inside Kumo. I was wondering...you see...we've been travelling for quite a while now..."

Sakumo could see the Kumo nin raise his fist and throw it in his face, and his survival instincts yelled at him to dodge, but he kept his stance, allowing himself to collapse onto the rocky, sloped ground as the punch sank into his cheek. He allowed himself to raise a hand and rub his face as an added measure.

The Cloud ninja nodded to himself, retracting his hand. "Pass on through," he grunted.

As Sakumo and his team shuffled past the man, the silver haired man let a small smile grace his features. The ninja had used a basic test to determine whether Sakumo was another ninja or not. If he had dodged the blow – which would have been too fast for a civilian to evade – the Kumo nin would have attacked him, safe in the knowledge that Sakumo was a ninja as well. It certainly was blunt, but did the trick nonetheless.

Sakumo, though...

Sakumo had seen this same base trick performed before – and Kumo was not feared because of its softness – so he had been half expecting the ninja to lash out at him.

"Hey, Sakumo," Kyougi murmured to him. "You alright?"

Sakumo touched his cheek once more before shaking his head. "I've gotten a lot worse before," he replied. "Don't worry about me."

The last member of the team suddenly spoke. "This is..." Kaisan whispered, staring.

The central mountain, which the three had climbed up, was the largest out of the collection. Small roads snaked around the circumference, with houses dotted seemingly randomly around them. Nearest to the peak was the Raikage's Tower, looming imperiously over the entire village.

"Kumo is so big..." Kaisan murmured. From the bottom, the mountain peak – and the village – had seemed to small, but up close it was almost as big as Konoha!

Kyougi shook his head. "We're going to have a hell of a time searching for this informant guy," he said. "Come on, let's leave. We've got to find ourselves somewhere to stay, and we can't waste any more time. Hokage-sama is counting on us."

**

* * *

**

It was early in the evening when Naruto unlocked the door to his apartment, slipping inside and shutting the door behind him firmly. The familiar scent of the room made him smile ruefully, and he leaned back against the sturdy wood behind him.

The apartment was in the exact same state as Naruto had left it in when he had departed from Konoha – not really a surprising fact, since no one else but him owned it – except for a slight sheen of dust that covered everything. Actually, now that Naruto thought about it for a bit, he _had_ been half expecting a surprise awaiting him inside the flat courtesy of Kushina. It was something she would do, after all. However, his apartment was untouched, and Naruto let loose with a few Kage Bunshin to clean up the place quickly.

He shrugged off his chunin jacket, tossing it onto his bed and ducking back out of the room again, this time heading into the bathroom. After he finished splashing water on his face, Naruto looked up, smiling faintly at the chin length bangs that hung next to his face. It was just another noticeable difference between his current hairstyle and the one he had had before. Perhaps Naruto would get himself a short trim sometime.

While gripping the rim of the wash basin, the blonde chunin stared at the image in the mirror for a few more moments before turning around, drying his face in a hand towel. Then he left the bathroom, strolling into his living room and inspecting the work that his clones had done in a matter of minutes.

The result had been rather satisfactory. Feather dusters had flown through the air in Naruto's short absence from the room, and he could now safely collapse onto one of the sofas without fear of dust flaking up all around him.

With a nod, Naruto dispelled his remaining clones and grabbed a cup of ramen out of the fridge. Buying ramen every now and then was a habit he _still_ hadn't gotten himself out of, no matter how many times he tried to resist. He guessed the ramen was just an addiction that no body switching would stop.

Naruto crammed the ramen into the microwave, at the same time opening a drawer and extracting a pair of chopsticks, rinsing them in the sink. The microwave beeped, and he extracted the ramen, peeling off the cover and preparing to dive into the food.

There was a crisp knock at the door, and Naruto paused with a single strand hanging from his mouth. He slurped it up before baring his teeth at the offending sound in a rather animalistic way before walking to the door with his ramen still in hand.

"Namikaze Minato?" a ninja wearing a flak jacket asked.

"Yeah," Naruto answered, tilting the cup backwards and taking a short sip of the deliciously warm broth.

"Hokage-sama wants to see you," the chunin replied in an abrupt manner. Naruto sighed, looking grumpily down at his ramen.

"Fine, fine," he mumbled, retreating back into the apartment to grab his keys while still maintaining a careful hold over his cup of ramen. Then he shut the door behind him, locking it firmly, rolling his eyes when he realised that the messenger had already disappeared. 'What a rude guy.'

Naruto looked down the corridor, half expecting Kushina to come bursting out of her apartment to shower him with a delightful cacophony of loud noises.

'_I think the old man's getting impatient.'_

Naruto whipped around at the sudden noise, inhaling sharply as he heard another, fainter chuckle.

'_Relax. It's only me, after all.'_

Naruto made a strangled noise in the back of his throat. "Oh, great," he huffed sarcastically. "He can talk to me while I'm awake now, too."

**

* * *

**

"Yo, old man!" Naruto called as he entered the office, slurping up the last of his noodles as he barged in through the door. "What's up?"

"The sky!" came a yell from above him. A sudden whooshing noise signified the start of something falling rapidly from overhead, and looking up, Naruto took a large step to the side, at the same time sticking his chopsticks into the plastic container. With a large 'splat' noise, a large amount of blue paint splashed onto the ground, slowly sinking into the carpet. Shortly after, the metal bucket followed, clattering to the ground with a loud clang.

Naruto eyed the mess on the floor warily. "I don't even want to know where that came from," he muttered. "Or why you were holding onto it in the Hokage's office."

"Aw, come on," Kushina laughed, slinging an arm over Naruto's shoulder and attempting to give him a noogie with the other. Naruto was able to avoid the sensation by simply moving his head and slapping Kushina's arm away.

There was a cough from further up the room, causing both of ninja to momentarily pause, staring at their leader.

"I wonder how I'm going to get that out of the carpet," Sarutobi mused, blowing smoke out from between his lips. Kushina actually blushed, raising her arm to rub at the back of her neck in a way reminiscent of the Naruto of the past.

"Uh huh. Anyway, talk to you later, Minato! I'm out of here!"

Kushina turned around and ran for her life, pulling open the doors and disappearing as they swung closed again.

Sarutobi beckoned Naruto forwards. "I have a few matters I would like to discuss with you," he informed him. "I heard your mission was a success." The sentence wasn't a question or a statement, but rather an opening for casual talk.

"That's correct," Naruto affirmed, purposefully not telling the Hokage of his use of Rasengan. Minato would be pleased. "We completed it pretty quickly."

"That's good to hear," the Hokage said, smoke drifting out of the corner of his mouth. "You see, I've been quite busy here in Konoha. I have heard that foreign ninja have been infiltrating Fire Country through our border patrols, something which is definitely not conducive to our precarious peace position. Do you have any thoughts on that matter?"

Although the Third's question was seemingly innocuous, Naruto could see the steel behind his words. "There are some things that even I didn't know about," he replied in an equally even tone. "I didn't study history until my later years in Konoha, and most of my knowledge is comprised of brief memories that Ero-sennin or Kakashi-sensei shared with me. Other than that, I'm just as clueless as you."

Sarutobi inclined his head. "I see," he said quietly. "I was hoping you would be able to shed some light as to how to combat these opponents. We have no real evidence to threaten the other villages against, and we have no idea where all these shinobi are going. Konoha is in the dark."

The Hokage allowed Naruto to digest this new information for a moment before continuing. "I have heard news that the Kazekage has disappeared from Suna," he said.

Naruto sucked in a breath, eyes flashing in anger. "Sasori," he hissed venomously. Sarutobi lifted an eyebrow.

"Akasuna no Sasori?" he inquired curiously. "What does he have to do with anything?"

"He's the–"

Naruto's mouth clicked shut. If he told the Sandaime now, would the man inform Suna? If he did, then history would be changed dramatically once more, something Minato surely wouldn't approve of.

"He's the one who kidnapped the Kazekage," Naruto said defiantly, forging on despite Minato's exclamations of anger.

Sarutobi raised an eyebrow. "Are these two events related?" he asked. "The Kazekage's disappearance from Suna and the foreign shinobi, I mean."

The chunin shook his head. "No, I don't think..." he said, before pausing and reconsidering. "I don't know," Naruto finally admitted. Truth be told, prior to launching himself to the past, the blonde really hadn't paid much attention to history, except for the small snippets that his various teachers would occasionally give.

The Third Hokage nodded, taking in this new information in stride. "Then would you offer any tactics on how to get rid of our unwanted visitors?" he asked.

Naruto started to shake his head, answering in a negative, before he thought of something that Kakashi had briefly mentioned once. "Actually..." he started. "Iwa is going to be one of our main opponents. They seem to favour using a camouflage technique – Iwagakure no Jutsu. That's probably why you'll have trouble locating them."

Sarutobi nodded. "I'll keep in mind that particular piece of information," he promised. "Now, moving onto other matters..."

Naruto tilted his head inquisitively. What else beside the new threat would Sarutobi want to talk about?

"You see, Kakashi has entered the ninja academy," the Sandaime said. "I promised his father, Sakumo, who was quite worried about his son, that I would assign him a mentor – an older student or another ninja, perhaps – who could help him if he was struggling."

Naruto didn't like where this was going. "And is he struggling?" he asked, trying to keep his tone calm.

Sarutobi smiled benignly. "Not at all," he replied. Naruto sighed, relieved.

"That is why I would like you to mentor Kakashi, Minato," he continued cheerfully. Naruto shot bolt upright in his seat, disbelief written all over his features.

"Mentor –Kaka –he –?" Naruto stuttered out, looking thunderstruck. Sarutobi chuckled, waiting for the chunin to regain his composure. "Why me?" he finally asked, crossing his arms.

Sarutobi spread his hands, smiling. "I can think of no other, better person than you, Minato," he replied. "Kakashi may not be having trouble at the academy, but you know just as well as I do that his current state of mind – no matter how advanced he is for his age – does not fit a ninja."

"Aren't you the one who sent him there in the first place?" Naruto retorted, scrabbling for a response that would _not_ involve him teaching the silver haired kid. "I can't teach. I've never done it before, and I'm not willing to either."

'_You'll end up teaching him anyway,'_ Minato replied easily. Naruto grimaced.

"Minato."

Naruto looked up into Sarutobi's now serious expression. "Think of it as work experience. Kakashi is still a child – so naturally I would want to pick someone who is also young, yet experienced. That certainly narrows down my field of possibilities. And out of all the shinobi in Konoha, _you_ are the 'youngest' yet who is still by far possibly one of our strongest."

Naruto shifted, and Sarutobi pinned him down with a stare. "No other ninja in Konoha can boast that they are several years older than their body, after all."

Naruto sighed, knowing that the Hokage would somehow force it on him even if he attempted to resist. "I don't even know what I'm supposed to do," he muttered. Sarutobi's face softened into a small smile.

"You could teach him a few practical-wise things," he offered. "Perhaps mostly theory work, although I don't think Kakashi would approve very much."

"Does he even know?" Naruto asked.

Sarutobi actually laughed this time. "No. I suppose you can be the one to break it to him."

Naruto stood up, sure that the discussion with the Hokage was finally at an end. Perhaps now he could get some real food into him. "When should I meet up with Kakashi?" he inquired. "And how often should I?"

"Well..." Sarutobi considered slowly. "Perhaps you could start soon – this week, if it is possible. And I believe you have a little history with him. Another reason why I chose you."

Then the Hokage placed his chin on his hand, looking thoughtful. "Maybe you should ask Kakashi himself when he would like you back."

Naruto snorted, using the back of his knees to propel his chair backwards.

"Your teammate will be leaving for Suna in a few days, right?" Sarutobi called out when Naruto was just about to turn. The blonde paused, thinking.

"Yeah, that's right," Naruto said slowly. "He's going to be training with Inoichi and Chouza to get their teamwork up to par, so our team won't be going on missions for a while. That's good for –" Then his eyes widened in realisation. "The Kazekage is missing! Are the exams still on?"

"I imagine they are," Sarutobi replied, nodding. "I haven't received any word otherwise."

Naruto gritted his teeth. What if something happened to them while they were in Suna? What if enemy shinobi had infiltrated Wind Country as well?

"There is no need to worry, Minato," the Hokage said as if reading Naruto's thoughts. "I've already decided that I will send quite a few other ninja to accompany the teams. Not enough to put a serious dent in our forces, but enough to ensure protection, I think."

"That's a relief," Naruto murmured softly.

"Now I suppose you're tired and wanting to get back home," Sarutobi said, once more looking positively jovial. "You've just returned from your mission, after all. Shall I see you soon?"

"If you want to," Naruto grumbled, heading for the door.

"By the way," the Third's voice floated back to him as he laid his hand on the doorknob. "All those years ago, when you first told me of your true origins."

Naruto's eyebrows drew together but he didn't turn back around to face the Hokage. The hand around the knob clenched. "Yes?" he asked tightly, preparing himself for another statement that would completely throw him for a loop.

"You said your name was Uzumaki Naruto," Sarutobi replied, a faint wisp of amusement lacing his voice. "Are you by any chance related to Uzumaki Kushina?"

Naruto felt a familiar heat rising into his cheeks. "She's my mother," he muttered, before turning the knob and leaving hurriedly in a manner reminiscent of Kushina, leaving behind an amused looking Sarutobi.

**

* * *

**

On the way out of the Hokage Tower and back home, Naruto threw his empty cup of ramen into a waste bin, shoving the greasy chopsticks – after he gave them a quick wipe – into one of his pouches. As he continued his trek home, the blonde chunin was unaware of three sets of eyes watching him – each unaware of the other and observing him from different hiding positions.

**

* * *

**

Kakashi was kneeling on the grass, extracting a handful of metal weapons from a large – and heavy – tin box he had brought earlier, not really caring that his black pants were slowly becoming wet due to the morning dew seeping through the fabric. He was currently in a vacated training ground, which was fine by him – there would be less people coming over to ask him what a child like him was doing in ninja territory. Additionally, Kakashi had observed that not many ninja usually visited this place – so in his mind, it was the perfect location for training in solitude.

"Good morning, Kakashi."

The five year old twitched and stiffened, but didn't turn around or look up from what he was doing. He recognised the voice. "What are you doing here?" he asked neutrally, digging out a kunai from the box before tossing it away in disgust. Unbalanced weapons had no place in his small inventory of various items.

"I decided to take a walk and conveniently stumbled across you," Naruto replied. It was certainly a strange experience, talking to his former teacher while he was a kid. And being asked to _mentor_ him, to boot!

"So, what are you doing?" came the same voice, but this time from a different direction. This time, Kakashi did look up, eyes widening ever so slightly when another Naruto smiled cheerfully down at him, suspended upside down from a tree branch.

"How did you do that?" Kakashi demanded, but Naruto wasn't listening. Rather, he was busy trying to maintain his chakra control due to his sudden outbreak of laughter.

"AHAHA!" the shadow clone pointed at Kakashi, snickering madly. It fell off the tree, exploding into smoke before it reached the ground. Kakashi whipped around to look at the first Naruto.

Naruto had a quizzical expression on his face for a moment before he fully assimilated the memories of his Kage Bunshin. _Then_, his mouth split his face in half too, before he dropped to his knees, clutching his stomach.

"What's so funny?!" Kakashi all but shouted, half rising to his feet before attempting to calm himself down. Why was he getting so worked up over the older boy's obvious amusement?

"Your – your mask!" Naruto gasped out, descending into another fit of giggles at the very thought. It made Kakashi look even more like his adult self, although the picture was still missing...something. As soon as the blonde finished articulating the sentence, Kakashi scowled, a hand rising almost self consciously towards the mask.

"Is there something wrong with it?" he challenged. Naruto shook his head, sitting back up and stifling the last vestiges of his mirth.

"Nah," Naruto flapped his hand in dismissal. "It just reminded me of something."

'_Damn right!' _Minato cheered in his head. Inwardly, Naruto scowled. Ever since the Yondaime had gained the ability to speak while Naruto was fully lucid and awake, he had exploited the opportunities presented and was now a constant annoyance.

Kakashi, apparently bored with just watching Naruto, turned once more back to his box of weapons, grabbing two shuriken each with each hand, whipping around and throwing them in one quick motion.

Two of the shuriken flew straight, sinking into a foam, circular target set up down the field, while the other two – obviously the ones he had held between his fourth and fifth fingers – whizzed wildly through the air. One of them glanced by the target, chipping off part of the foam, while the other didn't even touch it. Naruto, who was still on his backside, looked up lazily towards Kakashi. The boy – how odd, to call Kakashi that – wasn't quite glaring, but he was certainly giving the shuriken a fierce look.

"Don't be so hard on yourself," Naruto advised, mentally sighing at Kakashi's wound up expression. "I reckon your fellow students can't even do that, and they're all older than you."

"I don't care," Kakashi declared. "I'm better than all of them. I _need_ to be able to do this!"

Naruto shifted, raising his eyebrows. He needed to do it?

"You can get the first two in, right?" he asked the rhetorical question. The silver gravity defying haired boy nodded. "My primary fingers," Kakashi replied, grabbing another set of four and holding them in between his fingers again, showing Naruto. "My father showed me this trick before he left."

Naruto nodded. "You can get the first two in because your fingers are accustomed to flicking them the exact amount needed to soar properly. Your other fingers, on the other hand..." he trailed off, letting Kakashi make the deduction.

"Shouldn't my hand –" the academy student started, but was interrupted by Naruto.

"Just try one," the blonde said, reaching upwards and yanking away three of the shuriken that Kakashi held in his hands. "And feel what your hand is doing."

Kakashi did as he told, flinging the weapon with an ease borne from long and hard practice. The shuriken flew true, smacking satisfyingly in the centre of the board. Against his better judgement, Naruto was impressed. He didn't know many five year olds who could do this – Itachi was an exception, and he probably wasn't even born yet.

Flicking his eyes from the target back to Kakashi, Naruto was vaguely amused to see him staring at his own hands as if they had somehow transformed into strange, alien appendages. Then his eyes clouded over, his expression turning stormy.

"I should have seen that before," Kakashi muttered, clenching his hand into a fist. Now _this_ was more like the attitude of an arrogant genius child that an older Kakashi had proclaimed himself to be.

"Hey, I said it before, and I'll say it again," Naruto protested. "Don't be so hard on yourself. You can't be perfect all the time."

Kakashi looked hesitant for a moment before reluctantly nodding. "I guess so," he muttered, starting to walk towards the target to collect his shuriken. Seeing him move, Naruto's hands easily made the seals for the Konoha Shunshin, disappearing in a whirl of leaves and rematerialising next to the shuriken riddled foam board, easily plucking the metal projectiles from the board and throwing them to Kakashi, confident that the academy student could catch them.

Kakashi looked like he wanted to say something about the Shunshin, but shut his mouth. "Are you leaving now?" he questioned the older boy.

Naruto glanced upwards, taking note of the now clear sky, almost free of clouds. "That works too," he replied, smiling a little. "Ero-sennin probably wants Kasumi and I to meet somewhere soon, although doubtless he'll turn up late."

The blonde turned to leave, but just before he started walking away he twisted around again to face Kakashi. "By the way, the Hokage asked me to be a mentor of sorts for you...because of your unique position," Naruto said rather off-handedly, as if it was something he had forgotten to say before.

'_Yeah, right!'_ Minato replied sarcastically. _'Throw him an oddball statement like that and see how he takes it!'_ But the Fourth didn't seem too annoyed, so Naruto thought that he must have done _something_ right.

Kakashi looked surprised for a moment before nodding. "I guess that's...alright with me," he said, blinking a little. Naruto realised what had been missing when he had seen Kakashi with his mask on before. His left eye was uncovered, and there was no perpetual red Sharingan spinning.

The five year old began to backtrack, placing the shuriken back into his large box carefully before shutting the lid firmly. Naruto raised an eyebrow. That must have been heavy to carry all the way to the training grounds.

"Here." As Kakashi turned to Naruto in surprise, the chunin tossed an empty sealing scroll that he had fished out from one of his numerous pockets on his flak jacket. As the silver haired boy caught it, Naruto elucidated. "Seal that big box of junk into this scroll, if you can," he explained. "It's a lot lighter."

_If I can._ A test? Kakashi looked down at the scroll in his hand, a small smile – although unseen through the fabric of his mask – gracing his features. However, Naruto could see his eyes half closing in what he had come to know as a smile. "See ya," he said, turning again and raising his hand in a farewell wave.

"Minato," Kakashi said, stepping forwards. Naruto stopped, but didn't turn from his position. "Thank you, Minato," the boy said.

"No problem," Naruto replied, feeling just the slightest bit of warmth for the child. He wasn't quite attached, though. Kakashi was still Kakashi, after all.

'_See Naruto, you can teach after all.'_

"Shut up."

**

* * *

**

**Author Notes: **There's another chapter! Less scenes and more Naruto/Minato. There was also a tint of Kushina too – she's still not much of a main character yet, but she will be gaining some depth and importance in later chapters.

Next chapter will be the start of something big, I hope! Chunin exams, Cloud infiltration and more! Questions, comments, suggestions, corrections and of course reviews are very much appreciated. Until next time!

-Dream Keys

Shinigami: Death God

Kage Bunshin: Shadow Clone

Konoha Shunshin: Leaf Body Flicker


	26. Author's Note

**Author's Note**

Hey guys. Long time no see, I guess.

I'll make it clear here – and sorry to all those people who were hopeful, as this is _not_ an update to Legacy Rebirth. This is me finally leaving the story.

Before anyone goes and rages at me, there are quite a few reasons for me abandoning LR. First and foremost is because I simply lost interest in Naruto. The manga's plotline was going nowhere and the art was becoming horrible. A pretty poor excuse, yes, but lately I have been drawn into not so shallow works, which are far more meaningful.

One reason why I stuck with Legacy Rebirth for so long – more than 100k words, sheesh! – is because I was just pigheaded enough to keep on going. Honestly, the inspiration flew into my head as a young and impressionable thirteen year old.

With the later chapters of LR I was beginning to lose heart in the way my plot was going. By chapter twenty three or so I was becoming frustrated that I couldn't get the plot back on track – it was taking far too long to get to where I wanted. At twenty five, I was still only about halfway into the plot. It was long-winded and exhausting to push those chapters out. I had originally thought my story to be barely twenty chapters long.

Don't get me wrong, though – Legacy Rebirth has been, for the most part, refreshing to write. It has been wonderful to receive the feedback from you all and has helped me develop my writing style. Thank you, FFnet readers, for being here on this crazy ride! LR is my largest work to date, even unfinished as it is, and I will always be proud of it for being my first serious attempt at writing fanfiction.

If anyone is actually interested in picking up my story, I have a vague outline of all the things I wanted Naruto to achieve throughout his years as Minato (if it still exists in my hard drive!). I really am sorry that I could not see LR through to its end, but at the same time relieved to be free of this burden!

Lastly, I have moved on from this account. For anybody interested, my current penname is ~kyokugen. There's nothing serious on it, at the moment (lol) but if I ever have the time, I will probably start putting together a few ideas for another major story. Sadly, if I ever do, though, it will definitely not be for Naruto. I have moved on from that series, and if I ever write Naruto again it will be for pure crack reasons only.

Thank you all for reading this enormous wall of text.

Until next time,

-Dream Keys


	27. Secondary Author's Note

**Secondary Author's Note**

Sorry for spamming you guys with another author's note pretty much a whole year later. No, I haven't given up my story for adoption, which in hindsight is probably a good idea (now).

I've decided that I want to continue writing this story after rereading it just recently. It seems I can't make up my mind, and I'm sorry if this offends you horribly.

After reading LR again, I think that it probably wasn't a bad effort considering my age and maturity. But some of the material makes me cringe, so I've decided to post a rewrite – a blank slate, I guess. The beginning won't deviate as much from Legacy Rebirth, but there will be some more obvious changes later on.

Right now I'm in the middle of my senior years, and fast approaching my exam block. I won't be able to update as frequently as I'd like, so I'm going to ask you guys to bear with me while I get my plot under control again!

Thanks for reading, guys, the rewrite will be posted soon, under a new name. I'm hoping it will be slightly faster paced, and able to get to the Third War before 25 chapters! I have no idea how the original story managed to explode like that.


End file.
